Shattered Dreams
by riverofmemories
Summary: Lucy knew her dream of being a part of Fairy Tail was complete when they became her family, but sometimes when following your dreams, you forget that nightmares are dreams too. {Mainly Nalu with bits of Gajevy, Jerza, and Gruvia thrown in.}
1. Prologue

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

"Gildarts is dead."

"...what?" Lucy looked astonished. "How? He was the strongest in Fairy Tail...he might have overpowered Master…"

"He had the Marks," Erza said quietly after she'd requipped back into her usual armor. Lucy's eyes widened as she took in the Marks that covered her face. She hadn't noticed until now, too busy focusing on staying alive. "He knew he would be going soon. He allowed Juvia to kill him just before Gajeel was able to deliver the ending blow as we arrived."

"We have the Marks now," Gajeel said gruffly, showing his arm. "I had to touch her when I killed her and _he_ -" he paused to jerk his head in Rogue's direction, "- was caught from behind by her when she turned into water."

Levy sniffled, grimacing in pain as she gazed mournfully at Lucy. Lucy tensed when she caught sight of just a faint black beneath her freed bangs, and she realized that nobody but she and Levy knew that the solid-script mage had the Marks, too. The dragon slayers should have been able to notice, but her scent was masked by so many others with the Marks.

Lucy shook her head hopelessly.

Her Celestial Spirits wanted her to keep trying, and she agreed. They had to keep going and see if they could survive this.

But honestly?

She didn't think they would.

* * *

 _So...yeah. This lovely fanfic came from a multitude of ideas, and I'm going to thank my editor ahead of time 'cause she makes sure everything fits together perfectly. You may want to thank her, too, otherwise a lot of things would be strange. This will be updated on a weekly basis (on Mondays). So expect the first real chapter next week. ;)_


	2. Chapter 1

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Her eyes snapped open and a gasp escaped her lips as she tried to struggle and figure out where she was, tears falling soundlessly despite her attempt to make them stop. Panicking now, she sat up quickly, heaving for air, her body trembling with the effort of _not_ fleeing. Her dark eyes searched the empty air before her, a haunted look in them showing her entrapment in a nightmare.

"Lucy?"

She blinked, the familiar voice snapping her into reality. "Erza," she choked out shakily.

That's right. They weren't _there_. That wasn't reality. No, reality was her being on a mission, a job, with the rest of Team Natsu, two of which snoring contently on the floor of the room they'd rented for the night. The boys had been "nice" enough to give Lucy, Wendy, and Erza the bed...only after Erza had threatened to throw them into the streets for the night. Unable to help herself, Lucy's eyes scanned each member of the team - especially the contently snoring fire mage. But they were fine, completely unharmed.

"Lucy?" Erza repeated, attempting to capture her attention again. Lucy grimaced. She must have woken Erza by accident. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," Lucy stammered, smiling shakily and wiping the tears away. "Sorry. Nightmare."

Erza's wary gaze softened just barely and Lucy tensed at it. It worried her when Erza was being kinder...sometimes, anyways. And she confirmed she had a damn good excuse a moment later when Lucy found her face smooshed into a hard breast plate. She cringed in pain, rubbing her cheek after Erza had finally released her. "We all have nightmares, Lucy," Erza told her. "They are nothing to be concerned about. They are merely a dream."

"Dreams can come true, though," Lucy whispered, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly. She kept her voice low, not wanting to wake any of the others. She didn't feel like dealing with a tired Gray and Natsu's arguing. "And when nightmares come true…"

"We just make sure that doesn't happen," Erza said simply, as if it was obvious. "Now. Calm yourself and return to sleep, Lucy. We will more than likely be confronting a beast in a fight tomorrow. We cannot have anyone stumbling."

Lucy nodded, forcing herself to lay back down. Erza did the same and returned to her sleep in a few moments, but Lucy found herself lying there awake, memory going over the dream again and again and again. So much had happened in it, it was hard to keep track, but there were a few select moments that had locked into her mind. She shuddered, stifling a small whimper at the thought of them, and then finally just stood, pausing to pat Wendy's head affectionately. The young girl had curled up at the foot of the bed with Charle, comfortable with her head on Erza's feet. She slipped from the room quickly, hugging herself.

She needed a walk. A long walk that would or wouldn't take the rest of the night...she wasn't sure yet. And she knew she'd regret it come morning when she couldn't move fast enough to avoid wounds that were sure to come, but right now...she needed the comfort. So she slipped from the building and followed the curve of the road, barefoot and dressed in nothing but an over-sized T-shirt Gray had lent her and some shorts.

It had been a few months since the Grand Magic Games and the events that had unfolded there. Since they'd become the number one guild in Fiore again. Since the dragons had attacked. Since she'd seen her future self die saving her. She hoped that the future Lucy was back with her comrades again...it would certainly make her feel better if she was.

They had taken this quest up upon Makarov's request when Natsu had nearly burned down the guildhall for the third time. It was an S-Class job, though Lucy didn't really think it need be. Kill a beast? Easy. They'd done it dozens of times, and she wasn't excited to go around killing things, but it appeared Natsu was. He'd wanted to deal with it the second he'd gotten over his motion sickness, but Gray had reminded him about the fact that it was probably more serious than it looked. With their luck, it would be another of Zeref's demons…

Lucy stopped when she reached a small park set up in the middle of the town that had sent the request in, settling herself on a bench. She kicked her legs thoughtfully, forcefully making herself ignore the visions that threatened to flash through her mind again. How she hated the nightmares that had plagued her since childhood and would more than likely continue to do so.

Suddenly feeling slightly lonely, she quietly summoned Plue and pulled the small Celestial Spirit into her lap. Plue gave a happy sound and merely cuddled against her, giving her the comfort she desperately sought.

They sat there for about an hour in peace and quiet, giving Lucy time to calm down and scold herself for being so scared of something that would never happen. She'd gone out for _no_ reason whatsoever...how stupid could she get?

"What's this?"

Lucy tensed suddenly, sending Plue back to the Celestial Spirit World and grabbing the key for what she hoped was Loke, Virgo, or even Scorpio instead. Her dark eyes narrowed warily as a pair of men stumbled out of the shadows, practically radiating the stench of alcohol. Why was it only her who got into these situations? She clenched her hand around the key as one draped himself over the back of the bench beside her, his reeking breath striking her cheek. "Wha's a pretty girl out here for?" he slurred.

Lucy's tone was threatening as she answered. "It's none of you concern. Get lost. Now." Her knuckles turned white and slowly, so they wouldn't see, she began to to use the key. But then, much to her horror, it was suddenly plucked away along with the rest of her keys by the second man, who merely grin and held them above her head. "G-give those back!" she gasped desperately, trying to reach for them. She wasn't as short as some people ( _No offense, Levy,_ she thought.), but she wasn't exactly the tallest either.

Why was it always _her_ getting into situations like this?!

The first took advantage of her distraction to hook an arm around her waist, and Lucy gave a cry of disgust, trying to writhe her way free. "Hey! Let go of me!" she snapped, slamming her heel down onto his foot. He winced, and swore colorfully, shoving her away. Lucy scowled, leaping at the second one for her keys...only for them to again be raised out of her grasp. "Hey!"

And then, much to her relief, the keys were plucked out of the nuisance's hands by none other than a fairly pissed off Loke. The Celestial Spirit glared darkly at the drunk man. "Get lost," he spat, "Before I decide to make you bastards aware of just who you've pissed off."

The man practically tripped over themselves in their desperation to escape. Loke snorted, shooting a sharp look after them. Then he handed the set of keys back to Lucy, who gave him a relieved look as she said, "Thank you, Loke. I was going to summon you, but...they figured out what I was doing."

Loke's dark look vanished, replaced by a flirty grin. "I know. We sensed it. You should be a bit more careful, _princess_."

Lucy moaned, kicking at his shin before hugging her arms unhappily, shooting him a look. She wasn't in the mood for his flirting tonight. Her night was turning out to be a long and horrible one, and while it was usually fun to screech at him, she didn't feel like it. As if sensing that, Loke's grin dropped. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night anyways? Where's the rest of the team? Natsu will be up and hunting you down soon if you're not back…"

"No reason," Lucy lied. She didn't want to burden anyone else with her fears, at least not until she was sure she wouldn't be upset if they didn't understand her fears. "Anyways, I was thinking about heading back now...Erza's going to kill me as it is. Can you, err, make sure they don't come back?"

Loke smirked. "I'd be more than willing to walk you back to the inn, my lady," he said teasingly, bowing and offering a hand. Lucy simply rolled her eyes in annoyance and kicked at his leg again until he straightened and simply offered her his arm. "Come along, then, Lucy, we'll return quickly with no more people causing issues."

Lucy only sighed and shook her head before accepting the offered arm, feeling a slight sense of comfort that someone was making sure she was safe. Okay, so heading out alone wasn't exactly the best idea, but...she'd cleared her mind, that was for sure.

She really regretted leaving, however, when they arrived at the inn to see a nervous looking Gray waiting by the door, his expression tight with barely concealed fear. It would have been hilarious if Lucy didn't know what awaited her.

Erza wasn't a happy camper.

* * *

The S-Class job had proven to be a little difficult. "Little" being an extremely bad word to describe it. The creature they'd been asked to hunt had been a good hundred feet or so taller than they, and it had been filled with acid, making it near impossible to kill at close quarters without getting themselves killed in the process. It had been up to little Wendy, Gray, and Natsu to take care of it from a distance alongside Erza, who'd requipped to a bow rather than her usual close combat weapons.

Once again, Lucy had found herself unable to do _anything_ to help.

And that, along with watching them fight and actually struggle to get anything accomplished had brought back the memories of the nightmare from the night before, leaving her in a state of panic as she and Happy were forced to sit back and do nothing but watch. She'd tried summoning a Celestial Spirit, which had worked - until Virgo had been completely doused with acid and had disappeared with a painful scream.

Lucy had been so panicked, she'd summoned Loke to make sure that she was okay before forcing the gates of Leo shut again, ignoring his protests.

Finally, when Gray had managed to land a piece of ice in the creature's tiny beady eye did it go down in a flurry of acidic substance with a roar.

The upside? Gray had killed the creature.

The downside? Gray had been completely doused with acid from head to toe.

Now, Team Natsu found themselves seated in a subdued way in the room they'd been using the previous night as a group of people and Wendy rushed around trying to fix the burns and boils the acid had created. Lucy found herself grateful Juvia wasn't there. That would have been anything but fun to deal with on top of Gray's pained shouting and occasional groans and cries as he insulted just about everything and anything when he wasn't snarling curses.

Even Erza was upset about the entire matter, and was sitting beside Lucy with her back against the wall, her eyes sorrowful. Lucy herself had her knees drawn up to her chest as she hugged them, her brown eyes full of unshed tears, and Natsu was unnaturally quiet, but sitting close to Lucy, as if taking comfort from her presence. Happy was sitting squished between the fire and celestial mages, his own eyes troubled.

Suddenly, Wendy appeared in front of them. Bags had formed under her usually happy hazel eyes, and she flopped down tiredly in front of them. Charle gave a sound of anxiety for the youngest of Fairy Tail's three dragon slayers, but Wendy impatiently waved her off. "I'm okay, Charle. Gray's going to be fine, too, but it'll take a few days for him to be well enough to travel," she explained to them. "But, um," she hesitated before finishing. "He's not very happy."

"I can't blame him for that," Lucy muttered, "I wouldn't be happy if I was in that condition either, you know."

Erza sighed heavily, looking slightly stressed out by the entire matter. "Then we'll give him the days he needs." She turned a sharp gaze on Natsu, who was pouting. "Lucy, I believe it would be a good idea to give Gray time to rest...take Natsu and Happy in the town, would you? I will speak to the inn owners about renting another room so that Gray will be able to rest in peace."

"Sure. Wendy, do you want to come? Or are you going to stay here and get some sleep?" Lucy glanced questioningly at the youngest of the team, and she merely smiled up at her.

"I'm going to stay with Charle. They said they might need my help again soon anyways," Wendy answered.

"Alright." Lucy glanced up at Natsu, who'd stood swiftly, looking eager to be out and about the town. "Come and find us if you need us though. Feel better, Gray! We'll be back later!" She called the last bit out to Gray, who was lying painfully on his stomach with his face buried in his arms, his knuckles white from clenching his hands into tight fists. Under his demands, the healers they'd tracked down had removed most of his clothes, and he _did_ seem to look like he felt better without them on.

A muffled "fuck off" was his simple answer and Wendy grimaced the language, hurrying to reassure the furious Erza that it didn't matter that he'd said such words in front of her. Lucy found herself giggling, relieved he was well enough to say such things, and made her way out of the room, Natsu practically tripping over himself in his eagerness to get out of the inn and out into the town. He snatched up the blonde's wrist and half-dragged her behind him, Happy scrambling to keep up with them.

"Come on, Natsu!" Lucy cried, though her lips were curved up in a large smile. She couldn't be angry at his enthusiasm to enjoy the day despite what had happened to Gray...though she did suspect the over exaggerated grin he wore was hiding his concern for the ice-make mage. "Chill out, I need a second to _breathe_."

He made a face, but released her and she stumbled to a halt, panting for breath. "Jeez," she muttered.

"Jeez yourself," he shot back with a hint of a smirk on his face. "Hurry it up, Luce, I'm hungry!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed eagerly, attaching himself to Lucy's leg to avoid being nearly left behind again.

"You guys are _always_ hungry though," Lucy found herself whining, though she didn't find herself surprised. Only Natsu could think of eating when Gray was in serious pain. "Can't we find something else to do instead of spending all of _my_ money?" She knew better than to believe Natsu and Happy would spend their own money on their food. Natsu gave her a pleading look and Lucy gave in. "Fine. But I want it to be something small that you can carry around, do you hear me?" She spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument. They would get something to eat, but it couldn't be too big.

"How about this?" Happy's voice distracted her and she glanced back to see a vendor on a street corner protesting as Happy held up the largest normal looking fish she'd ever seen.

The celestial mage moaned and dropped her head into her hands, shaking her head in desperation.

After apologizing profusely to the vendor on the street corner about what Happy had done along with paying for the fish for the Exceed, Lucy found herself following a cheerful Natsu down the street as he tried to figure out the single thing he wanted her to purchase for him. Lucy watched him from under her lashes as he walked with his hands folded happily behind his head. The fire mage would glance back every now and then to make sure she and Happy were still there, and she wasn't oblivious to his concern.

Suddenly, however, he dropped back to walk beside her, an arm dropping around her shoulders and making her jump when she found herself tucked against his side. Happy gave them a sly little smirk before claiming he was going to head back to the inn. But Natsu stopped him by grabbing his "son" by the tail and pushing him into Lucy's free arms, his eyes hardened.

"Natsu?" Lucy breathed, noticing the wary look on his face and not daring to speak too loudly. "What's-"

"Sh," he hushed, and she was startled to hear a sound that resembled a growl escaping his throat. Faint trails of barely there flames appeared, dancing along his free hand's fingertips. She fell silent as instructed, and Happy watched him with just as much curiosity, taking a bite of his fish. In a quick movement, Natsu had tucked the hand with her Fairy Tail emblem between her and Happy and had covered his own with a carefully arranged scarf, his eyes darting this way and that. "Something's wrong," he muttered in explanation.

Ah. That explained his weird seriousness and actions. He'd smelled something he didn't like with those enhanced dragon slayer senses, and it was making him - Natsu Dragneel, someone who never got worried about anything but his nakama - nervous. But it wasn't like him to hide the fact that they were mages of Fairy Tail. Usually when there was an enemy around, he used it to his advantage, daring them to mess with the well-known guild.

So why wasn't he this time?

"Maybe we could head back?" she suggested under her breath, biting her lip anxiously. If _Natsu_ was concerned, then it wasn't good.

His eyes swept the street around them, and it was only then that she realized it. The street was empty, devoid of everything but the trio. "Yeah," he muttered, "Let's go back." They'd be safer with the rest of Team Natsu - even if Gray was injured, there was still Erza, after all. And despite Wendy's claim, she was a formidable foe, too. She was, after all, a dragon slayer.

He turned her with care, making sure that the colorful emblems that marked their status as members of Fairy Tail were hidden still. Happy decided to assist by holding the scarf carefully in position, and Natsu shot him a grateful look for it.

She wouldn't lie. Despite the danger of whatever was making Natsu nervous, Lucy couldn't help but enjoy being forced to lean into him as they walked.

No, that _was_ lying.

She wasn't forced to at all, but Natsu certainly did keep her there.

* * *

Gray was in a pissy mood on their third day in the town that had hired them to slay the acidic monster, but nobody was blaming him for it. While he was slowly - really _really_ slowly - but surely healing, it still hurt like nothing else ever would, and it looked painful when Lucy studied the wounds while helping Wendy that evening.

"Took quite the blow there, hm?" she murmured, making herself ignore his pained grunt as she helped Wendy spread some kind of salve the healers had given them along his back. Gray simply snarled a "shut it" back at her.

Wendy giggled, ignoring the sharply spat curses in their direction as she mused, "Erza said Gray doesn't usually speak like this in front of us, but...I think it's funny."

Lucy agreed quietly and grinned alongside the smaller blue-haired girl. "Just shut _up_ ," Gray groaned, burying his face in his arms again.

"Better us than Juvia, Gray," Lucy commented, ignoring the way he tensed when she slapped some more salve on his shoulder. "I don't think she'd be able to do anything but cry over you, honestly…." She loved Juvia, but the girl was in need of the occasional reality check that sometimes things just had to be done, no matter how painful they could get.

And Gray, in all of his pain-induced wisdom, snapped out, "Yeah, well, at least she would have been of use in the fight and wouldn't have just stood there like a useless whining bitch!"  
The small pot of salve shattered on the floor and even Wendy stopped to stare at the ice-make mage in horrified surprise. Never in the entirety of the time that either of them had been members of Fairy Tail had Gray insulted Lucy in particular to that degree. The door opened and a curious Natsu peeked in, looking innocently from the shattered jar to Lucy's wide eyes. "Hey. Heard the thing break from downstairs. What happened?"

Two seconds later, the blonde woman was shoving her way past the dragon slayer with a suspicious sheen and unconcealed anger in her eyes. Natsu looked confused, but didn't push her further by following, instead heading into the room to learn from Wendy - and likely deal some damage to Gray when he'd learned what had happened.

Lucy shuddered to think of what Erza was going to do, but until then…

She needed some alone time.

She doubted Gray had meant it, she thought as she stomped across a bridge that allowed one to cross a river that flowed through the town. But it didn't make his words any less painful. Because weren't they the truth? All she'd done was stand there. Her spirits had been practically useless against the monster they had been battling. Her whip hadn't been useable either. She had no way of creating any long distance attacks.

She hugged herself, shaking her head in a violent lashing motion as the tears finally began to fall, only frustrating herself more. Why couldn't she do something to help anyone? They always got hurt fighting to protect themselves or other Fairy Tail guild members. So why couldn't she? She only got hurt when she tripped into the wrong spot at the wrong time!

She paused in her storming around, ignoring the people that hurried to avoid her as she stopped to look at the pink mark on her hand, the one that signaled her as a mage of Fairy Tail. She loved the guild. They had been her family when nobody else had...especially that idiot of a dragon slayer she cared so much for. And Happy, too, she supposed, though he was a bit less so than Natsu.

So why couldn't she protect them like she _knew_ they protected her?

Wouldn't it be more fair that way? Then again, life wasn't fair…

An hour later found her still wandering around the town, her face void of any emotion though streaked with dried tears. Night was falling and she knew she needed to return to the inn, where the others were probably waiting if they hadn't already set out to find her. But she couldn't bring herself to make the trek back. She didn't want to go back and be reminded of what she could and couldn't do.

And then something tickled over her senses, brushing across her flesh and making her shiver. She stopped, blank look disappearing as she took in the lack of people on the street, and cursed herself for her carelessness, shoving her hand into her pocket.

She'd walked right into the area Natsu had warned her about the day before.

A breeze whisked her blonde hair around her face. She tensed when something seemed to skim past her arm and then whipped around, her hand already grasping for a key, praying that it be one of her useful golden keys.

A face with gleaming pitch black eyes was mere inches from hers.

Unable to help herself, Lucy screamed as she jerked back, summoning whatever Celestial Spirit she could with the key in her hand. To her relief, Taurus was the one to appear. He didn't spare her a single glance before attacking for once, his axe coming towards the strange looking creature with a bellow. The cement beneath splintered as it leaped out of the way.

Lucy reached for her whip, taking the chance to study it. It was humanoid. Everything _about_ it was humanoid...excluding a few features, such as the beady black eyes, the clicking pincer mouth, and the sharply taloned stingers that tipped each finger. It wore nothing but a strange black trench coat that swirled around it as it dodged another blow from Taurus and lunged straight for her, pincers snapping.

Lucy snapped her whip out, then ducked to avoid it, darting forward when it landed straight behind her. Taurus went after it again, then suddenly disappeared, as if Lucy had shut the gates.

Except...she hadn't.

Panicked, Lucy reached for another key, but her hands closed around a key ring that was no longer there. The creature gave a proud hiss, throwing her key ring aside and lunging for her again. She wasn't able to avoid it this time, but she tried, and she found herself slammed down onto her stomach with a second scream, praying that one of the two dragon slayers had heard her somehow.

And then, there was pain.

It rippled through in waves as the creature tore viciously into her shoulder, and she screamed again and again, the sound growing hoarse with the amount of air she put into it.

After a few minutes, she went limp, the world fading from view around her as black spots filled her vision. It was almost as if she couldn't feel the pain anymore. She was numb to everything except the blood spilling onto the street around her and to the tugging as the creature dug in, it's strange pincer-like mouth scraping bone so that even she could hear it.

"Lucy!"

She could have sworn she heard someone shouting her name, but she couldn't clarify that, as she blacked out.

* * *

 _And...first real chapter. I need sleep. My newly acquired parakeets/budgies are chirping greetings to the birds outside. . Hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for the review and reading! :)_


	3. Chapter 2

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Pain sliced through her as she pried her eyes open, blinking blurrily. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was-

Lucy shot straight up, panic making her move quickly despite the dampness she could feel spreading on her shoulder. Her hands grasped tightly at the blankets that covered her lap, her eyes wide with fear as she -

Wait. Blankets?

Her line of thinking was immediately diverted from its original path as she took in her surroundings, this time with more care. She was in their room at the inn, and had been tucked carefully into the bed. Her blonde hair had been carefully pulled out of her face, and it took her a few moments to realize that her wounds had been cleansed and bound with bandages, though she suspected she had torn them open again by her movement if the blood soaking them was anything to go by. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

So someone had heard her. She _had_ heard someone call out her name before she'd lost consciousness. She grimaced, giving a soft gasp when pain suddenly slammed down on her hard, making her nearly pass out a second time.

So it was much to her relief that Wendy chose that moment to step into the room, eyes filling with absolute happiness when she saw her. "Lucy! You're awake!" she cried, darting over to give her a careful and gentle hug. Her hazel eyes became concerned. "You're bleeding again...stay right here! I'm going to go let the others know you're awake, and then I'll heal your wounds, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy agreed with a faint smile. She watched with amusement as Wendy scrambled out of the room, then came back only a few minutes later with a glass of water in her hands, as if knowing the celestial mage would be thirsty. She squeaked, however, when someone tried to shove into the room behind her and scolded in an almost adult-like voice, "I'm sorry, Natsu, but you can't come in yet. After I'm done." She promptly proceeded to slam the door shut in his face.

Lucy couldn't help it. She burst into hysterics - both laughing and crying at the same time. She'd been so sure she'd been about to die, yet here she was, listening to Wendy tell Natsu he couldn't come into her room. Sobbing into her hands, she barely heard Natsu shouting through the door, demanding to know what was wrong as Wendy comfortingly placed a hand on Lucy's arm before setting to work on tending to her wounds.

Wendy carefully stripped the bandages off, working quietly and thoughtfully with gentle hands. Lucy tried her best to keep still as Wendy probed and pried once she'd stopped crying though a laugh would escape her every now and then. As she worked, Wendy explained what had happened.

Erza had stopped Natsu from killing Gray and had been shouting at him herself when Natsu and Wendy had heard Lucy's scream. Natsu had been out the nearest exit - a window nearly three stories above the ground - in a matter of seconds, shouting for Happy to go with him. Wendy had quickly told Erza, then sprang lightly after him, pleading with Charle to help her catch up. Erza, uncertain, had stayed behind with Gray.

They'd arrived just as the creature had pinned her and was tearing into her shoulder and back, snarling and hissing with a gleeful joy as it spattered the ground with her blood. Natsu had been furious, Wendy told her, and had gone after it with a vengeance when it fled, not returning until she'd tried to move Lucy a bit and Lucy had given a cry of pain. Happy and Charle had kept an eye on Wendy until the fire mage had returned, his gaze set with rage. He'd told her that he wanted to kill Gray because Gray had been the reason Lucy was out and about.

So, after healing her as best as she could for the time being, Wendy had gone ahead with Charle to warn Erza what had happened. Erza left to try and track down the creature that had attacked their teammate, and it hadn't taken long for Natsu to arrive, carrying Lucy with great care.

As she told the story, Lucy found herself rolling her eyes at the way Wendy hinted at certain things. She'd been hanging out with Mirajane _way_ more than she needed to.

They'd bandaged the celestial mage up, tucked her into the second room's bed, alerted Gray of what was going on, then waited for Erza, who'd returned with nothing much to the requip mage's frustration. And then they'd waited.

Lucy had been unconscious for four days, making it a week that they'd been in the town. They'd kept their guards up, but Natsu and Erza suspected the strange humanoid-bug thing had left town.

"Um, Gray's been feeling really guilty," Wendy told her as she examined the wounds, then gave a small gasp. "L-Lucy?"

Lucy frowned, trying to twist and see, but gave a small gasp of pain and stopped. "What's wrong? Wendy?"

Wendy's finger gently began to trace a shape Lucy couldn't see, but the twinge of pain that accompanied the touch made her wince. The blue-haired girl hesitated before answering. "There's...there's something...it's like it…" She shook her head, unable to clarify and gave a small and high distressed call for Natsu to get Erza but to not come in himself.

"What is it?" Erza questioned as she walked in, keeping Natsu out with ease as she strode in. She paused to give Lucy a look that the celestial mage interpreted as her "we'll talk later" look, then stepped around, armor clinking as she peered at the shape that had been carved into Lucy's back. "A spell."

"I thought it was," Wendy mumbled, "I wasn't sure. What kind of spell is it?"

"There's a _spell_?" Lucy tried to twist again and gave up when she became dizzy. "What do you mean there's a _spell_?! Erza!"

"The creature," Erza murmured, spitting that out in disgust, "Appears to have carved a spell into your flesh. It is a rare magic, one that is practiced even less then Lost Magic, but it is occasionally brought back. It's a primitive version. I don't know much more about it," the red-haired mage admitted. "Levy may, however. I believe it would suit us best to return to the guild as soon as possible."

"Mm," Wendy mumbled in agreement. "Maybe the guild master will know something...or Levy, too, just like you said…"

Lucy rolled her eyes, frustrated. She wanted to see whatever they were talking about, too! "Come on, guys, share the information!" Nothing. Giving up, she huffed, then grimaced. Tip to self: don't breathe too deeply. "Can we be done soon?" she snapped impatiently. She really couldn't blame Gray for his temper now…. "I swear I see smoke coming from that door." She raised her voice. "Natsu Dragneel, if you burn down this building, I'm going to personally kill you!"

Erza's eyes flashed as she stormed towards the door, the only other sound being heard being the one of feet hitting the wooden floor as Natsu desperately made a run for it. Wendy and Lucy shook their heads in exasperation when a shout of pain was heard and the door swung open to reveal singed wood.

Only Natsu.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you're okay to be traveling, Luce?"

Lucy forced herself to smile brightly at Natsu, who was gazing at her with a mixture of concern and illness as he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming train ride. "I'm fine, Natsu," she reassured, though it was mostly a lie. She was anything _but_ alright. Everything burned when she touched it and it physically exhausted her to take so much as one step, making her lean a little bit more than normal on Wendy when the young girl appeared beside her.

"Liar," he accused, glaring, then made a face when the train came into view.

Lucy ignored him in favor of allowing her brown eyes to glance in Gray's direction. The ice-make mage looked just as badly as she did, covered from head to toe in bandages. To make him feel better, Erza had _reluctantly_ agreed to allow him to go without a shirt, but only after he'd given Lucy a muttered apology for his harsh words though he hadn't looked at her while giving it. Lucy had muttered a word of forgiveness just as quietly before turning away.

They boarded the train fairly quickly, Erza making Gray sit in the same private booth as they were when he went to walk the other way. He sat on one side of a it, beside the window. Wendy was beside him with Charle in her lap, the Exceed giving the ice-make mage dirty looks on occasion, and beside Wendy was Erza with Happy in her own lap, though he didn't look very excited about it.

Across from Gray sat a fairly ill looking Lucy, nearly matching the look on the face of the dragon slayer who'd decided her lap was a good place for his head. The train hadn't even begun moving yet and he was feeling sick.

"Well aren't we a sight for sore eyes," Charle said drily from Wendy's arms, sniffing in irritation when Happy offered her a share of the fish he had left over from earlier in the day.

"It's not our fault," Wendy protested.

"No," Erza agreed, "It is what happens when you fight as a mage, though. And the damage isn't quite as bad as it has been before. Nobody was near death this time, that is a small comfort."

"Maybe to you guys, not so much to me," Lucy muttered, affectionately pushing some of the hair from Natsu's face. "Some of us weren't thinking that way at the time."

The train began to move and Natsu gave a groan, making the celestial mage have to fight back a broad smile. She felt bad for him, she really did. It must really suck, the motion sickness he got whenever he wasn't traveling on his own two legs or being carried around by the blue cat that currently held residence in Erza's lap. But it was really hard not to find it amusing.

"Jeez, Natsu," she muttered before glancing up again when Wendy said firmly in her quiet voice, "The first thing I'm doing is going to Master Makarov or Levy. Maybe even to Porlyusica. She might know a thing or two about that strange spell. You'll go with me, right, Charle?"

"I suppose," Charle said tersely, looking unhappy about Wendy being involved in any of this. Then again, the Exceed rarely looked eager to involve the sky dragon slayer in anything involving Fairy Tail despite both being a member of the mentioned guild. Not that she didn't have a good reason. Look what had happened to Gray and Lucy this time, and that _wasn't_ counting the dozens of things before.

"Thanks," Wendy said with a happy smile, patting the white cat's head before becoming serious again when Lucy rested her head against the window. "Are you feeling alright, Lucy? I can try healing you again…"

"No, no," Lucy insisted, shaking her head and wincing when the world spun around her. "Gray needs it more than I do, whatever that medicine we gave him was is wearing off...I think I just need to sleep a little bit."

Wendy looked unconvinced but left it at that. "We can move Natsu to the floor if you'd like to lie down," Erza offered seriously, making her laugh softly and Natsu shoot Erza a grimace. He liked where he was, though he wouldn't say it.

"No," the celestial mage repeated. "I'm comfy here. And if we try to move Natsu now, he's going to be sick all over everyone."

"Will not," Natsu tried to protest, as if he was offended by the mere thought of her words. But then he made a face and decided to keep quiet to avoid being knocked out by Erza, who had cracked her knuckles in preparation.

Lucy giggled, exchanging amused looks with Wendy, who then proceeded to lean away from Gray when the ice-make mage suddenly tensed up, clenching his jaw as pain raced through him. It appeared the medicine they'd given him _had_ worn off. Ice crept along the seat he sat on when he grabbed it with white knuckles, and Wendy hurried to find the medicine she'd shoved into her pocket.

Grumbling as the temperature dropped quite a few degrees in their section of the train, Natsu gave Wendy a pleading look, and the sky dragon slayer gave a soft sound of annoyance. Why not make _everyone_ feel better? After creating a Troia spell for the fire mage, she went back to work on Gray, grudgingly grateful when Natsu was able to heat the area back up from the suddenly numbing chill while smirking, remaining where he was despite Lucy's flushed face as she attempted to push him off of her lap.

And then he realized she wasn't just embarrassed about his position. No, Lucy was flushed because she was quite literally hot, feverish at the moment to the point that her hair was sticking to her forehead. Upon realizing that, the dragon slayer sat up quickly, and Lucy gave him a grateful look before resting her head against the cool glass of the window again, relieved when the heater beside her simply became a normal over-heated Natsu again, allowing the chill of Gray's ice to fill the compartment again.

"Natsu?" Erza questioned, looking confused. But the confusion vanished when she saw the semi-conscious Lucy, who looked sicker than she'd ever seen her. Concerned, she moved to assist - just as Lucy suddenly tipped forward.

Natsu dove forward, and Lucy found herself gasping for air as pain radiated through every inch of her body when he caught her. She couldn't figure out what was wrong. She'd been fine not even moments before! Just seconds before this, she'd been able to keep herself upright, and now…

"Lucy?" Natsu snapped, trying to get her to respond. The feverish girl blinked at him, vision blurred as she gulped down air like it was a lifeline. "Wendy, she's-"

"I'm coming!" Wendy threw herself down beside the ill celestial mage and the pink-haired mage cradling her with care. "Erza? Could you see how far we are from Magnolia?" she asked politely. Erza slid out of their compartment and Gray hesitated before speaking up.

"Do you want me to, err, lower the temp in here?" he asked. Wendy cast him a look of surprise. He looked exhausted, like he just wanted to sleep, though that had been from lack of sleep from the night before.

"Yes, please," she answered, flashing him a brilliant smile. At least he was trying to help!

Cautious, Gray let ice creep around the compartment, decorating the window and the ceiling in beautiful patterns while reluctantly telling Erza he'd pay for the damage when she returned. "Only an hour," Erza reported, kneeling beside Wendy and Natsu to study Lucy. "Will she be alright?"

"Her fever's going down," Wendy mumbled, a hesitant smile flashing across her expression when Natsu heaved a sigh of relief.

Happy, who'd been dumped on the floor, gently patted Lucy's cheek with a paw in reassurance while Charle, who, too, had been abandoned on the floor, watched cautiously. Something wasn't right about the entire matter, and all of Team Natsu could sense it.

 _"Lucy!"_

Her eyes snapped open. "What?" she mumbled tiredly. She just wanted to _sleep_. Nobody responded, however, so the celestial mage simply allowed herself to rest with her eyes shut, her head held carefully in Natsu's lap, in reverse of how they'd been sitting earlier. The fire dragon slayer was beyond concerned for his partner, his hand darting to check her forehead and cheeks for fever every now and then as Wendy returned to her seat to rest for a little bit, needing to in case she was required to heal again before their arrival in Magnolia.

"She'll be okay," she heard Erza say distantly, though sounding uncertain.

"She better be," was Natsu's dark response.

"She always is," Gray said simply.

And then silence filled the compartment as Team Natsu impatiently awaited the arrival of the town they called home.

* * *

Lucy gave a soft moan of disapproval at her current state. She didn't want to be carried into the guildhall on Natsu's back. She wanted to walk into it on her own feet, just like she'd always done when entering the large building, but Natsu had insisted on carrying her. Secretly, she appreciated the sweet gesture and gave him a tiny squeeze for it, but mostly, she was frustrated. She should have been in better condition than Gray, but he was walking and she was being carried! How the hell did that happen?

Natsu shot her one of his famous Natsu grins. "C'mon, Luce," he teased, "It's not _too_ bad."

"One more word," she threatened, though her voice held no threat. "One more word and I will _end_ you, Natsu Dragneel. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, I hear you," he answered, rolling his eyes, then grinned again when she swatted the back of his head with as much as force as she could muster.

"At least you feel better," Happy mused, giving the two a sly look. Erza shot him a warning look. She'd already warned the Exceed not to bother either of them too much. The events on the train had left Lucy void of any physical strength and Natsu drained of emotional. Both were stressed enough as it was, and Erza didn't want them having to deal with any more.

Lucy scowled, reaching up to swat at Happy, who flew alongside Team Natsu. Wendy stuck close to Gray, making sure the ice-make mage didn't fall over. They'd run out of medicine and she was rather eager to get both of her patients to Fairy Tail's infirmary.

A few people recognized the team as they strode quickly through Magnolia and stepped aside to allow them past quicker when they realized that something was wrong. Natsu picked up the pace just a hint when Lucy rested her head against his, too tired to do much else now. The fever was coming back, he realized. Why wouldn't it stay away?

They reached the guildhall soon after that, and Natsu sped through the lower floor without a pause to return any of the greetings thrown at him and Lucy by the startled members that had gathered there. "Natsu?" Mirajane called, coming out from behind the bar to follow, her eyes filling with concern. "What's-"

"Get the master," Wendy interrupted, voice serious as Juvia came over to assist Gray with tears already forming in her eyes. "Um, Levy?" she called over to the bookworm, who'd looked up from where she was reading a book near Gajeel. "Can you come, too? Someone needs to get Porlyusica, too…"

"On it!" Lisanna called, hurrying out the door of the guild, her magic already changing her form.

Lucy grumbled something unintelligible in Natsu's ear, but the dragon slayer didn't respond as he lowered her into the infirmary bed. Levy kept close beside Wendy as the already exhausted girl set to work on attempting to help the celestial mage again. "What happened?"

"Stupid bug-thing," was the only statement Lucy could choke out as fire seemed to race through her veins, making her cringe in pain. This must be what the acid had felt like when it had covered Gray, she thought. She wrenched away from Natsu's naturally over-heated touch, her face tinged green, and Levy had enough sense to shove a bucket into her arms just in time.

"There's some kind of spell on her back," Wendy explained hurriedly as Lucy vomited into the bucket Levy had supplied. "We wanted to see if you knew what it was. Erza said you might be able to know or find out if you didn't know."

"I can try," the solid-script mage said firmly. "I'll have Gajeel and Pantherlily help me. Let me see it really quickly - sorry, Lucy," she added hastily when her blonde friend gasped as she forced her shirt up to inspect the spell. One look was all it took and then she was scrambling out to fetch the mentioned two she wanted assisting her.

"What happened?"

The master's voice was a relief to everyone gathered in the infirmary - which was just about as many could fit, excluding Levy, Gajeel, Lily, and Lisanna. "Out!" he demanded, "All of you but Mira, Erza, Natsu, and Wendy - and, oh _fine_ , Juvia!"

Reluctantly, most of the members of the guild left the room, Cana pausing to demand as she hauled Happy and Charle out, "We want to hear, too!" before closing the doors behind them.

"There," Wendy said softly, patting Lucy's hand tiredly. "That should...that should hold for-" The young dragon slayer pitched forward, unconscious, and Mira quickly caught her. They'd seen Wendy work overtime before, so nobody was concerned. Wendy was just exhausted. So the ex-S-Class mage gently tucked her into a bed before returning her attention to the others.

"What happened?" Makarov repeated, sparing a glance towards Gray, who'd collapsed gratefully onto the edge of a third bed.

Natsu glared at Lucy - though not because he was angry with her. It calmed him to at least try and help her, but he couldn't when she was overheated. "Gray," he growled, "Do that thing you did again."

Gray huffed, glaring at Natsu for daring to order him around, but muttered a softened spell so that ice grew along the ceiling again, slowly but surely cooling the air around them down. Makarov said nothing, simply waited patiently for an explanation - which Erza gave willingly.

"We accomplished our job," she said bluntly, glancing at Lucy, who no longer looked as violently ill. The young woman had perked up a bit and was soothingly touching Natsu's arm. "But Gray was injured, as the monster was full of acid. He said something rather nasty to our Lucy, who left. According to Natsu and Wendy, who went to find her when she screamed, she was attacked by a creature who I suspect cast a primitive spell on her...Lucy, show the master."

"I'd love to," Lucy said sarcastically, tone sour. "If I could see it myself."

"We'll show you later," Natsu muttered irritably. "Just show the gramps."

"Natsu," she threatened. With Erza's help, she showed Makarov - and Natsu, who hadn't seen the mark the previous few times - the mark that had been carved into her flesh, hissing in pain when Erza accidentally brushed against the wound with her armor. But then they left her be, and she carefully twisted to lie on her stomach, wanting to sleep. Nobody told her to do otherwise, but she remained awake anyways, listening.

"Have you seen anything like it?" Erza's voice asked as she closed her eyes, sounding uncertain.

"No," Makarov answered, though he didn't seem eager to admit it.

"Then what do we do?" Natsu growled, furious.

"We wait," Gray said tiredly, "And we hope that Levy and whoever's helping her finds anything or Porlyusica will know what to do."

"Juvia agrees with Gray," Juvia supplied.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something," Mira murmured.

Lucy had to fight back a snort of amusement. Only they would think this way. The pain was surging back now, fading away, and she felt almost normal. That was a relief. She thought she was going to die again for a moment there, though it had probably been an exaggerated thought.

"Now out, all of you," Makarov announced. Natsu made a sound of protest, undoubtedly glaring at him challengingly, and Lucy, too tired to put up with the idiot's protests, reached up with one hand and shoved him away. She didn't want the heat he unintentionally provided just yet. Gray's ice would suffice. Gray snickered, but the sound of rustling blankets told her he'd made himself comfortable in his own bed to get some rest.

Mavis, how pathetic the two of them must have looked.

Finally peace and quiet was inevitable, and she found herself dozing off.

It was a disappointment that what seemed like only moments later there was a sharp voice in her ear demanding she wake up as a pair of fingers snapped near her ear. "Wake up! I don't want to be here longer than I have to, and I've already been here longer than I do!"

Porlyusica had arrived.

Groggy, Lucy pushed herself up off of her stomach - she thought it a miracle she'd been in that position the entire time - and grimaced when the world spun around her. The illness was coming back, just like the last time, and by the splash of water around Porlyusica's feet, it looked like Gray's ice had melted away...leaving her to feel as if the world was on fire.

Porlyusica bustled around Lucy's bed, ignoring the celestial mage's squeak of protest when she shucked the shirt right off of her. Thank Mavis Gray was still asleep and would hopefully stay that way until the crazy pink-haired elderly woman was done! It looked like Wendy had left, too… Porlyusica hurried to remove Lucy's bandages, ignoring the small sounds of pain that occasionally escaped the girl, then stood there examining the mark. "Hm…"

"What?" Lucy demanded, then was startled when the woman gave a light yet sharp smack on her cheek. She stared at her in shock. "What'd you-"

She did it again. "Don't speak," she snapped, taking in the spell's mark with a critical eye. "Bah, I've never seen this. I don't understand why they thought I would - don't you dare do that, young lady," she added sharply when Lucy gagged. "You're being quite pathetic about the entire matter."

Unable to help herself, Lucy snapped, "I don't see you being the one trying to not be sick!"

That earned a rather harsh poke on the back that had Lucy doubling over with a hiss of pain. _Why_ did Makarov's good friend have to be so harsh?

"What's going on over there?" Gray had woken up and, in her panic, Lucy squealed and hugged a pillow to her chest when he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. It appeared the healer had gone to him first, because he didn't look nearly that bad. In fact, he looked nearly healed now.

"Young man, I suggest you leave this room," Porlyusica said without looking over, her tone enough to send the half-naked ice-make mage scrambling to leave. At least he felt good enough to start stripping again, Lucy thought.

Finally, Porlyusica decided she was done with whatever she was doing and shoved a small package full of plants into her hands as she said bluntly, "I have no memory of whatever that marking is. I suggest you apply these to the wounds, however. It _will_ scar. And if you make a tea out of _these_ , the illness you're feeling will be cured. You should be able to return to your normal life within the next day or two."

"Um...thanks?" Lucy said uncertainly, glancing at Porlyusica with a confused look.

The healer merely sniffed and grabbed her possessions before leaving.

"Okay then," Lucy mumbled. The celestial mage was just reaching for her shirt again, deciding to wait on Wendy or maybe one of the other female members of Fairy Tail to help her with the salves Porlyusica had given her, when the door to the infirmary flew open. She screamed in surprise, shocked that she could still create such a high pitched sound while still not feeling too well.

Natsu stared at her for all of a few seconds before whirling away, slamming the door shut again with his face aflame despite the fact that he'd seen her in such a way at least twice before.

* * *

 _More stuff has begun to happen! Yay! Sadness! Sort of. Hope you enjoyed reading the second chapter... :) Thank you SO, SO much for the reviews, favorites, and follows, they make me seriously happy!_


	4. Chapter 3

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

She twisted to study the marking that had been engraved into her flesh, grimacing at the complicated ragged swirls that filled a circle that took up the entirety of her back. It didn't hurt anymore, thanks to the herbs Porlyusica had given her nearly a week before, but...it was still sore on occasion and had indeed scarred, leaving a reminder of what had happened. She sighed heavily before wrapping herself in a towel and stepping out of the bathroom cautiously, pausing only to make sure a certain dragon slayer and his blue companion was nowhere in sight. Relieved, she dug around in her closet, pulling out a select outfit that would keep with her usual style yet hide the damage. She wasn't exactly eager to show off the strange spell…

It had been a week since their return to Magnolia, and Lucy felt way better than when she'd first arrived. Porlyusica's medicines had helped her greatly - something she felt grateful about - and she'd returned to her normal self, heading to the guild every morning to meet up with Natsu and Happy if they hadn't broken into her room in the middle of the night. Usually it was just Natsu, as Happy had taken to moping around when Wendy and Charle wouldn't let him stay with them.

She'd just tugged on her knee-high boot and was preparing to lace it up when a shadow fell across her bed. She paused and glanced up to find Natsu there. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. The dragon slayer merely grinned. "Hey, Luce," he said eagerly, "You ready to go?"

"Um, yeah," she answered, quickly finishing what she was doing. She scooped up her wallet - which she knew without a doubt would be needed to pay for the jerk's food at the guildhall later - and then paused to stare at him. "Why are you here?"

He frowned, looking offended, and Lucy had to fight back the urge to snicker at the look on his face. "Happy left early this morning and I was bored."

"Come on," Lucy sighed, waving him in. He gave her a huge smile and made sure to take care in closing the window behind him. "Can you at least _attempt_ to enter my home like a normal person, though?"

"Nah," he answered, rolling his eyes. "It's boring going through the door like you."

"Jerk," Lucy responded, playfully elbowing at him before leading him outside. She locked the door behind them, then stretched, careful not to make her sore back even more so as she did so. "Not too bad outside, huh?" she commented. The sun was shining brightly, and it was decently warm - a warm welcome after the chilly days that had arrived not too long ago alongside the fall season.

Not that the fire mage noticed. He wouldn't know what cold was even if it smacked him across the face. Natsu shrugged, folding his hands comfortably behind his head with a small little smirk on his face. "So," he said with an eager look, "Are we going to take another job today?"

"No," Lucy moaned, "Don't. Please, don't. I don't want to go anywhere yet, not after yesterday!"

Somehow, she'd allowed Natsu to drag her along on a small job, only with Wendy's clearance though. And it had ended with them nearly destroying someone's house by accident - well, Natsu had nearly destroyed it. She'd been screeching at him to stop running around while he was spitting fire everywhere. And all they'd been hired to do was scare someone off the property...

Natsu pouted. "Come on, Luce, it'll be fun," he whined, and Lucy found herself reaching out to tug sharply on that strangely scaled scarf of his.

"No," she repeated. "I don't think I can handle another job without Erza to make sure you're not burning everything down. Not yet, anyways. Besides. You nearly got squashed when that kid of theirs decided to play pranks on us with his "newly found" skills and Happy wasn't there."

The Exceed had chosen to remain behind in his determination to woo a certain white cat. Wendy kept them updated on the hilarity that usually ensued from Happy's attempts whenever their small friend wasn't around, and the duo often enjoyed hearing about what happened.

Lucy hopped up to walk along the edge of the canal, aware that Natsu kept a close eye on her, just as he'd been doing since she'd been attacked. Though she thought it was more than just a little annoying, she thought it was sweet at the same time that he had taken it upon himself to make sure she was okay at all times. She clasped her hands behind her back, humming one of the songs Lyra often sang under her breath. "Hey," she said suddenly, cocking her head with a thoughtful look. "Where's Elfman and Jet and Droy? Haven't seen them for a few days...are they all okay?"

Natsu snickered. "Mira didn't tell you? Elfman went out on a job and they went with him because they were hoping Levy would wake up and realize they left."

The solid-script mage _had_ been rather ignorant to everything in her search to find out what the spell was. Gajeel had attempted to convince her to take a break in his own gruff manner, but she'd insisted that she wanted to figure it out as soon as possible and had told him and Lily to go on if they wanted to. Gajeel - being the stubborn man he was - had simply grumbled about the "stupid shrimp" upon returning to the guildhall with Lily to give the master an update on their lovely lack of information.

"Hm," Lucy hummed, "I hope they're okay…I've never really seen Elfman go out on a job, you know?"

"He'll be fine, trust me," Natsu said with a grin. "I went on a job or two with him before I met you. He's not bad, especially when he's teamed up with a bunch of others. He's a Fairy Tail mage, after all."

"I suppose," Lucy agreed grudgingly. She was sure Mirajane and Lisanna would be just as concerned about their sibling, if not even more so, but if Natsu said he was alright…

Upon their arrival to the guildhall, Natsu swung both doors open with a loud bang, announcing their arrival just as proudly as he usually did. Lucy buried her face in her hands, shaking her head to herself. Why couldn't he just enter like a normal person?!

"Hey! Lucy!" Lucy jumped when Levy suddenly seemed to materialize in front of her, eyes gleaming excitedly. Lucy found herself beaming happily. Levy hadn't shown up for days, and it was nice to see her friend again...even if there was a fiercely irritated iron dragon slayer glaring at her from over the bookworm's shoulder. "I found something!"

"You did?" Natsu was nosing his way into the conversation, and Lucy fought the urge to shove him away when he threw an arm around her shoulders, earning a smirk from Mirajane. "What'd you find?"

"It's not a lot," Levy admitted, holding up the book she'd brought over with her. She flipped it open, quickly flicking through pages until she found ones she liked. "It's only a picture of it alongside a quick description of the magic it comes from. Like Erza said, it's a primitive magic. It's mostly used to plant curses on people, places, and objects, but...that's all I could gather. I'm sorry, Lucy." She gazed sorrowfully at the other woman.

"It's fine," Lucy hurried to reassure, smiling at her. "I mean, it's not doing anything at the moment, so…"

"It doesn't mean it won't though," Levy murmured unhappily, looking truly guilty that she couldn't find more. "I'll keep looking if you want."

"No," Lucy said firmly, _very_ aware of the steely red eyes glaring at her from behind her friend, their owner just daring her to tell the blue-haired woman it was a good idea to keep looking. "You need a break from reading like you have been. You can start looking again in a few days if you're up for it, but...until then...just chill out with a normal book, okay?"

"Sure, but I think I'll have to sadly skip out on the reading time." Levy grinned, then tapped Gajeel's arm thoughtfully, looking up at him with an innocent smile that made him look instantly suspicious. "Gajeel? Want to go with me on a job? I need to get one so I can afford to feed myself, and Mirajane told me Jet and Droy went with Elfman since I was too busy to go on a job with them. Lily can come, too, if he wants," she said cheerfully.

Lucy had to fight back the smug smile that threatened to cross her face when the iron dragon slayer reluctantly agreed. She was proud of her friend. She'd pushed past the terror that had first accompanied Gajeel entering the guild and was attempting to become closer with him, especially after the events of Tenrou Island. Perhaps even more than friends, too, if that slight blush that crept across Levy's cheeks was anything to go by.

As Levy danced over to the bulletin board to pick out a job for she and Gajeel to accomplish, the iron dragon slayer paused to mutter something under his breath to Natsu, who only glared at him in response for a few moments before turning and nudging Lucy towards the bar with a scowl. Curious, Lucy glanced after him, then up at the Fire mage. "Natsu? What'd he say?"

"Nothing," Natsu muttered, a pout sliding onto his face.

"Hi, Natsu, Lucy," Mira greeted cheerfully, swiping happily at the glass in her hands as she dried it. Her eyes gleamed as she set the glass down and reached for another. "What can I get you two? Or did he eat everything out of your fridge already?"

Lucy gave a dry smile. "He didn't for once. So we'll be lighting your beautifully cooked meals on fire, if you don't mind." Natsu shot her a hopeful look, his signature grin spreading across his face, and she sighed heavily, reaching for her wallet. "Add some tea on top of whatever he wants. I'll be paying, it appears."

Mira merely laughed, setting the second glass down. "Got it. I'll be back soon."

Natsu twisted to face Lucy, practically sprawling out across the bar. "So what are we going to do today?"

" _I_ have a couple errands to run," the celestial mage mused, her gaze thoughtful as she propped her chin on her open palm. "There's some shopping that needs to be done, and I think I want to get some new writing supplies while I'm at it. I used all of mine up when I was stuck in bed." Natsu opened his mouth to speak, and she cut him off before he could speak. "No. You're not coming. I need some alone time and I'd rather you not burn any shops down before we can get out of them. Just hang out around here with Gray or something. Or go find Happy and fish."

"Happy went out with Charle and Wendy, of course," Mira alerted them as she placed a plate full of food in front of Natsu and a small cup of tea in front of Lucy. "I wouldn't count on him coming back anytime soon...and Gray let Erza drag him with her because he had nothing better to do." She giggled.

Lucy lifted her cup to her lips, trying not to smile. She recognized that look on Mirajane's face, but she didn't dare say anything about it in case the situation was turned around on her. She sipped contently at her tea, trying not to choke in surprise when a blaze lit beside her, Natsu not hesitating to set his meal aflame. She didn't understand why she was surprised. It was normal for him to do things like that, especially when eating.

"Where are Gray and Erza?" he asked after shoving his mouth full. Lucy silently questioned how he'd managed to get his words out clearly around it. "They gonna be back soon?"

"No. The master sent Erza on a special job because none of the other S-Class mages were around and it requested her expertise in particular. Since Gray's with her, he won't be back soon either."

"Not fair," Natsu mumbled.

Lucy just shook her head at all of his whining and complaining. Natsu could find something to complain about no matter what when he was bored. She would usually have given in by this point and let him come shopping with her, or taken a job with him, but she needed to be alone when she went to visit her parents' graves. She hadn't gone to see them in a while, and while it was quite a distance away, it would be nice to see them without a fire mage breathing down her neck. Dully, she found herself wishing that Gray was there. The ice-make mage had avoided her as much as possible as of late, feeling guilty for the damage he'd caused, but had otherwise returned to his usual self, occasionally beginning one of Fairy Tail's large battles.

Another sip of her tea later, Lucy came to a sudden realization.

"Natsu!" she squealed, jumping to her feet and smacking desperately at the cloth that had lit up, the flame creeping up her sleeve and closer to her arm. Natsu's head snapped around, and he simply grinned before smacking it out for her. _Must be nice to not have to worry about burning yourself,_ she thought irritably, glaring at her now charred clothing. This shirt in particular had been expensive, more so than her usual choice in outfits.

Oh, well.

She supposed she could just get another. At least it was replaceable.

* * *

"Thank you, ma'am," she murmured to the older woman as her wrinkled hands pressed a bouquet of flowers into Lucy's smooth young ones.

The elderly woman gave her a charming smile. "Of course, Miss Lucy, come by anytime. And refer anyone to me as well, if you don't mind. Especially that _handsome_ pink-haired fellow of yours...where is he? He usually accompanies you when you stop by to visit!"

Lucy smacked a hand to her face, fighting down the blush that threatened to rise. She would _not_ fall into the trap that had been set before her. She would _not_ give anyone a reason to tease her about Natsu, especially not this woman, who probably thought herself an expert in such matters. "He, err, isn't here this time. I made him stay back at the guildhall with the rest of my friends to wait for someone." Not entirely a lie. Lisanna had sworn that she'd keep Natsu there under the impression that they were waiting on Elfman to return if he realized she didn't plan on returning that evening, and had told Lucy that she'd keep him in the guildhall for as long as possible.

"Oh, well," the woman sighed, frowning with a disappointed air about her. "Make sure to bring him next time, dear. Your mother would have enjoyed him while she was alive, I'm sure she enjoys the amusement he brings now."

"I will," Lucy reassured with a final smile. She waved, then left the small flower shop, tucking the bouquet into the crook of her arm. She'd split in half, just like she always did when coming to visit her parents, one half for each of the graves she would be visiting.

It didn't take her long at all to reach the property that her parents' graves had been moved to before focusing on the graves in the small site before her. Her gaze softened as she let her hands brush against the headstones, her hands rapidly resting flowers on each one. There were some rather fresh looking flowers that couldn't have been more than a few days old, and Lucy suspected that they had been placed there by one of the people that used to work with her father in the merchant guild nearby. It warmed her heart to see such things. Her father had been a heartless bastard after her mother's death, but people had still cared for the man he'd once been and the one he'd apparently become after losing his wealth.

"Hello, Mama," she said softly to her mother's headstone. "It's been awhile since I've been back...a lot of stuff happened since I last talked to you in person. I wrote it down in my letters, but… I doubt it's the same as hearing it in person, hm?" She crouched in the grass, playing with the small green blade with her fingers as she continued. "Something weird happened to me. I was attacked. I'm okay now, of course. Don't worry. But...Erza said it was some kind of primitive magic they left behind. I believe her, and Levy confirmed it. It hasn't done anything so far, but…

"Sometimes," she continued, touching her chest, resting her hand just over her heart. "Sometimes it really hurts to move. I feel like I can't breathe. I haven't mentioned it to anyone just yet, 'cause I don't want them to worry. But when it happens, I swear..." She took a deep breath, then said, "Never mind, Mama. That's not important. Forget I said anything." She smiled, shaking her head. "Anyways. Natsu was an idiot again the other day. I know, who's surprised? I worry about him sometimes. He needs to remember that while he's a dragon slayer, he's still human...in most ways, anyway. He needs to stop freaking me out when we're battling our enemies. Scares the hell out of me when he won't stay down because he feels like he needs to prove himself and Fairy Tail."

Lucy rolled her eyes, then stood, brushing herself off. "I need to get going...I've got a few things I want to do before I head back home tomorrow. I got a notice they were going to start selling what was left of the Heartfilia possessions soon, so I decided to grab a few things while I still could. Not too many. Just a few, like that book you used to read to me from. Let's hope Natsu doesn't ruin it, hm? See ya around!"

She hated coming to see their graves. It reminded her of how much she had lost already, and how much she could continue to lose if she wasn't careful.

* * *

Slowly, kicking her feet out in a playful sort of way, Lucy made her way towards the large building she'd once lived in, not pausing as she slammed one of the massive front doors open. A look of sadness and disgust appeared on her face as she began to make her way through the now dusty and dark space, heading for the room that had once belonged to her. Most of her possessions weren't wanted or needed. All she wanted was the book, another book that she'd loved to read when her father had shouted at her again, and a few bits and pieces of jewelry that had once belonged to Layla Heartfilia.

"Should have done this sooner," she muttered, "But I've been kinda tied up with Fairy Tail...I haven't had the chance until now with Natsu always dragging me out on jobs and such…"

Jerk.

Oh, well. She couldn't complain. The jobs kept her attention off of depressing matters most of the time.

Her shadow flickered against a wall as she turned a corner and unable to help herself, the celestial mage cringed away in fear, her hands darting to her keys. But then she forced her hand away, scolding herself under her breath. "Come on, Lucy, it's a freaking shadow. It's not going to kill you."

Ugh. Paranoia was going to be a pain in the-

A sound suddenly cut her off mid-thought.

Wary, Lucy reached for the keys at her hip, letting her fingers lightly wrap around Gemini's golden key. It reacted to her touch, the metal warming ever so slightly in preparation. The two spirits that made up Gemini were ready to help her. Her dark eyes scanned the area around her, and it was at that moment she saw it.

It reminded her immediately of the creature that had attacked her, though it was small, not even a foot in height. A pincer-like mouth clacked as it hissed, small beady eyes gleaming in the dimness, and her breath would have hitched - had she not discovered she couldn't breathe at all. A muffled cry escaped her as she crumpled, pain exploding through her body, radiating in waves from her back. It only took moments for her lungs to start burning as she struggled to suck in air. The creature only gave a soft sound that made her shiver, and Lucy could have sworn that just for a split second, her heart stopped thudding in her chest.

And then she blinked, and both the pain and the small creature were gone. She was left lying on the floor, as if she'd passed out there for no reason. Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, gulping down air. She gave it a few moments to clear her head, then slowly hauled herself to her feet, leaning heavily against the wall. Once she'd caught her balance, she staggered weakly down the hall, fully intending on leaving right away.

Screw her possessions. She didn't care anymore. She couldn't stay here a moment longer. She needed to get back, even if it meant riding the train throughout the night to get back to the place she called home. She'd even take Gray's insults a million times over whatever had just happened. She needed to get out and back to her guild. _Now._

It took her longer to exit the mansion then it had to enter, and when she finally made it outside, her hair was sticking to her face and neck from the sweat that had gathered, her dark eyes shadowed and exhausted.

She'd made a mistake.

She should have brought Natsu with her, or even Happy. But no, she'd thought it would be smart to come alone to an abandoned building where _things_ had likely gathered over the time nobody had lived there.

Lucy hoped whoever had taken over the property burned it to the ground.

She was more than aware of the betrayed glare that landed on her the second she set foot into the guildhall around noon the next day, but she ignored it in favor of slowly making her way over to the bar Mira worked behind, slumping across it with a soft groan. Let Natsu be upset with her. She just wanted to _sleep_ without things jumping out at her in her dreams.

Lucy had made it home sometime in the early hours of the morning, the errands she'd set out to accomplish forgotten. She'd attempted to sleep, but had only managed to be haunted by nightmares, of which she suspected had been sparked by the creature she knew she'd seen. Not that she thought the others - especially an irritated fire dragon slayer - would believe her.

* * *

"Hi, Lucy!" Happy cried in greeting from where he was chowing down on a raw fish beside Natsu. She didn't respond aloud, only lifted a hand in greeting.

Mira, eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and sympathy, set a cup of tea down for the tired girl. "Here, Lucy, though I think you need coffee or pop, not tea."

"Thanks, Mira," she mumbled out, not touching the offered drink. Honestly, Cana's preferences didn't seem so bad at the moment, but she didn't think it'd be a good idea. She felt nauseos after a night without much sleep.

"No problem," Mira said with a gentle smile. She reached out to affectionately pat the younger woman on the head like one would do to a sick child, then tensed, narrowing her eyes as she called, "Burn that table, Natsu. I _dare_ you."

"Sorry," Lucy sighed, sitting up and making herself take a sip of the tea. When her stomach didn't protest, she settled down to drink the rest of the cup. "He's mad at me because I went somewhere overnight without bringing him."

"Oh?" Mirajane reached for a dish towel to wipe down the counter. "Where'd you go?"

"Places." Lucy didn't feel like explaining the basis of her current problems. Especially to the woman before her. That wouldn't be a fun discussion. Knowing Mira, she'd twist it in a way to satisfy the fangirl part of her, even if it was as serious as it was. She had a gift when it came to that sort of thing. "But as you can see," she paused to wave in the glowering and more than likely eavesdropping subject of their talk's direction, "He's not happy that I left him in the dark." Of course, she wished she hadn't now, but it was too late to do anything about that…

The ex-S-Class mage grinned. "Of course not. You should have seen him yesterday, Lucy, he was all mopey. It was pretty funny watching Lisanna try to convince him to get up and do something. Happy, too. I mean, he's been hanging around Charle and Wendy a lot lately, but he missed you just as much."

Lucy's lips threatened to twitch up into a smile, but she managed to keep it from happening. "Stupid cat," she muttered instead.

She grinned in response, then looked over the celestial mage's shoulder with sparkling eyes. "Incoming," she commented lightly, then stepped out from behind the bar to go clean up the slightly charred mess Natsu had created.

Lucy moaned and dropped her forehead onto the bar. "What?" she groaned, drawing the word out in her frustration. "What could you possibly want with me?"  
Natsu, who'd been about to launch into a whole speech about what she'd done wrong, lost his anger upon seeing her. He took note of the shadows beneath her haunted eyes, the tightness of her expression, and then slowly sat beside her, careful not to touch her just yet. "You okay, Luce?"

She dropped her head into her arms. "No."

He frowned, opening his mouth to speak again, but then stopped, a dark look entering his eyes as he shot to his feet. Wendy, who'd been eating a piece of Erza's favorite kind of cake because the red-head wasn't there, did the same, her eyes snapping wide with fear and worry. Lucy twisted her head to look up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Natsu?"

Before he could explain, the doors to the guildhall slammed open and in slumped Elfman, slicked with fresh and dried blood, his eyes blank and black marks twining up and down his bare arms, brushing against the flesh over his heart. Mira gave a cry and Lisanna shot to her feet from where she'd been sitting near Bickslow, eyes wide with alarm. "Elfman?!"

Lucy sat up sharply, twisting to see what was going on. Several others of the guild rose to their feet, darting over to see what had happened, but when she tried to do the same, Natsu grabbed her arm, clenching his jaw. "Stay away from him," he ordered, narrowing his eyes into dangerous slits. "Don't touch him!" he added louder.

Mira held back, but Lisanna shot her friend a glare before gently reaching out to touch Elfman's arm, eyes full of fear and concern for her brother. "Elfman? Are you okay?"

The silver-haired man turned his eyes on her, staring at her for just a second. And then a grin spread across his face, absolute delight flashing across his face. "Yeah," he said, not seeming to be aware when Lisanna stumbled back. Mira quietly ordered for Bisca, who'd been peacefully eating some breakfast, to fetch the master as he continued. "I'm fine."

Lucy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. This wasn't Elfman. This wasn't _their_ Elfman, anyway. Where was all the talk about the "manliness"? That was apparently what Natsu had been thinking the entire time, because flames sparked to life, rearing above his readied fist. "Where's Jet? And Droy?"

Elfman's grin switched to a disgusted sneer. "Dead. I had a good time eliminating them...who needs people like them in the guild?"

No, this wasn't their Elfman at all. "Lisanna," Mira said sharply, a hand darting out to grab her arm and pull her back. "Back away." Lisanna fought for a moment, but then gave in when she took in the blood that had stained her palm. "Elfman," she continued slowly, "What happened? What did you do?"  
"Like I said," he said with a short laugh. "I got rid of them. We don't need them."

"That's what you think now." There was a collective murmur of relief at the familiar sound of Laxus' voice. Elfman's gave turned on where he stood beside a currently emotionless Makarov and a nervous Bisca. "You're going to regret that at a later point though."

Lucy's eyes darted from Natsu to Laxus and then back to Elfman, who had begun to grin in an unnaturally wide way that shouldn't have possible on a human's face. Her fingers sought out the keys at her hip, wrapping tightly around Loke's, just in case. Just like Gemini's had the day before, the key warmed at her touch, comforting her.

And then, just as suddenly as he'd arrived, Elfman was gone.

* * *

 _So...change of plans. My other fanfic,_ No Longer _, wasn't turning out the way I hoped, so I've decided to update this twice a week instead. Expect updates on Mondays AND Fridays now. :) And things are starting to pick up now, eh? :D Thanks to all reviews, favorites, and follows! They make me so happy! ^_^  
_


	5. Chapter 4

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Nobody was smiling. Not a single person wore even a hint of happiness on their faces as they hung back from the fried body in the middle of the nearly destroyed guildhall. Both desperate and hysterical sobs filled the air as Lisanna and Mirajane tried to come to terms with what had happened - something Lucy doubted would happen anytime soon.

The celestial mage herself was lightly grasping Natsu's arm, leaning just barely against him, her eyes downcast. He let her, actually leaning back into her as well, his eyes hard with rage and grief for the dead man. Happy had migrated over to join them as well and stood beside them with nervous eyes.

In under twenty four hours, three members of Fairy Tail were dead, two of which killed by the third. Elfman, who'd attacked Laxus with a vicious intent, had forced the S-Class mage's hand in killing him when he'd suddenly lunged for Mira, aiming to slaughter her where she stood. All it had taken was for Laxus to just barely brush his fingers against Elfman's arm, and the giant of a man had gone down in an instant, the highest voltage of electricity possible frying him from the inside out.

Laxus was brooding in a corner now, looking anything but happy about the matter. He hadn't wanted to kill anyone despite the intentions he'd once had concerning the guild and the way it was run. He hadn't wanted to kill Elfman.

Nobody was angry with him, of course. Not a single person disagreed with the fact that it had been a necessity. Elfman had been out of his mind with something they weren't too certain about and had obviously intended to kill them. But that didn't mean they had to like it.

Lucy's grip on Natsu's arm tightened. "Poor Levy," she breathed. She'd thought the other members of Team Shadowgear would have been fine on a job with him. And now…

Natsu gently shook her off, then slid an arm around her shoulders, tucking her against him just as he had the day before she'd been attacked. "We'll explain to her what happened," he muttered.

Lucy winced at the small twinge of pain that suddenly sparked on her shoulder. "Okay, but can you stop burning me? Some of us aren't immune to those flames of yours, Natsu." It vanished immediately, and a tight smile flickered across her face before disappearing almost instantly.

"Lucy?" She glanced down at Happy, who'd turned his attention on her. "Are you okay now?"

She pursed her lips unhappily, aware of the closely listening Dragon Slayer beside her. "Yes," she reassured, "I feel fine now."

The second Elfman had gone down, the same feeling from the day before had struck her, and Lucy had fought furiously to remain standing when she'd suddenly found herself unable to breathe with a slashing pain snapping through her. She'd been unable to hold back a small cry of pain, but the noise of the commotion involving Laxus and Elfman had managed to hide it from everyone but the sharp-eared Natsu and Happy, who'd been watching her with widened eyes.

Pain still lingered, rippling across her every now and then, tiring the already exhausted mage out even further, but not badly enough to knock her off her feet again.

"Alright, alright, listen here, you brats." Lucy focused on Makarov when he spoke, feeling Natsu tense beside her. Others' eyes shifted to him, a mixture of emotions filling those among the present guild members. Makarov gave it a moment before speaking quietly. "I've given it some thought. Elfman will need to be removed - I apologize, Lisanna, Mira," he added, this time gently to the two distressed sisters, "But it must be done. I don't believe we have seen the end of this matter, but there's nothing about this situation that seems familiar to me. I will look into it. I suggest you keep an eye out and alert those who aren't aware of what's happened. Don't touch him unless you already have." And, with that said, Makarov disappeared into his office, his eyes serious.

Natsu huffed, his eyes narrowed irritably. "That's it?" he demanded. "We're not going to even try to figure out what happened?"

"What point is there?" Lisanna murmured unhappily, wiping at her tears. "He's gone. It's not like it's going to matter."

"No, but still," Wendy said shakily, appearing beside Lucy. The blonde gently drew her closer, resting her arm along the sky dragon slayer's shoulders. "It would be good to know what happened so that we can keep it from occurring again…"

"That is true," Charle agreed. Her gaze was troubled, and Lucy had the sneaking suspicion that the Exceed had seen something she wasn't telling them about. Not that she could blame her. Charles's visions could be horrible.

Natsu grumbled unhappily, but remained surprisingly quiet when Laxus suddenly stood and made his way over to Lisanna, Mirajane, and their brother's body. He lightly took Mira's elbow, moving her to the side with care. "Come on, I'll help," he muttered gruffly, keeping his gaze emotionless, but Mira gave him a flicker of a grateful smile anyways.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Natsu suddenly tugged Lucy forward, and Lucy carefully brought Wendy along with her. Wendy eagerly stuck close, not eager to be left alone after what had just happened. "I can't stay here right now," he muttered, and Lucy clamped her opened mouth shut, no longer eager to ask why. She knew why. And she didn't want to be there when they moved the man that had lived as a friend and perished as an enemy.

Lucy hurried to swipe at her eyes when they teared up. The people that worked and lived around Fairy Tail's guildhall watched with wide curious and confused eyes. She knew they'd heard the serious fighting, and she knew they were just as worried and concerned as the actual guild. They may not have been mages or a member of Fairy Tail, but most of them appreciated the work the guild did for them.

It shocked her when one of them actually reached out to hesitantly grab Natsu's arm, her eyes concerned. "Um, Salamander?" Only Natsu would be recognized by another name outside of their family. His onyx eyes darted to her. "What happened? We heard so much…" She trailed off. "And some of the people have mentioned seeing that big one of yours walking around covered in blood."

"He's dead," Natsu said bluntly, "We don't know what happened."

Her eyes snapped wide and she gave a small gasp before murmuring, "I'm sorry. I hope...I hope everyone else is okay." She hurried away.

Usually Lucy would have scolded him for his rudeness towards the woman, but she couldn't bring herself to do it today.

Who could? Natsu was furious and upset that it had come down to being forced to kill their nakama, even if he himself hadn't had to do it. Her arm tightened around Wendy's shoulders, and the girl sniffled.

It had been a bad day.

* * *

Evening found Lucy sitting criss-cross on her bed's comforter, glaring at the pillows. She didn't want to sleep. If she slept, she would have nightmares of what had happened. And she didn't want that at all. It was bad enough that she'd had to live it out once. She didn't want to see it happen repeatedly.

Elfman had been buried. While his grave didn't have a headstone just yet, Fairy Tail had given him a true Fairy Tail funeral, alongside an honorable one for Jet and Droy. There hadn't been any tears. Nobody had had it in them to cry for their lost nakama. As soon as it had ended, Lucy had gone home without a word to anyone, and she found herself expecting Natsu and Happy to show up at any time.

She wasn't disappointed.

Natsu, still clad in the dressier clothes he'd changed to, scrambled through the window, his scarf clutched tightly in one hand and something else held lightly in the other. Happy flew carefully in after him, landing easily upon the celestial mage's bed, and she turned to face them with a look of exasperation. "Is it so hard to come through the door?"

He gave a faint smile that didn't spread as far as it usually did, instead offering what he held to her. "Here."

She plucked it warily from his hands, startled to find that he had handed her a simple letter. She studied the writing on the front, labeling the envelope with both her first and last name, and found herself confused. This wasn't writing she recognized. "Where'd you get this?"

He shrugged. "Gramps said it arrived after...you know. He said to give it to you."

"What is it, Lucy?" Happy asked curiously, peering at it.

She gnawed thoughtfully at her lower lip as she carefully opened the envelope, pulling the paper inside out. She scanned through it quickly, her eyes widening, and then read through it a second time, this time more slowly and outloud to Natsu and Happy.

 _"Dear Miss Heartfilia_

 _I have been made aware of the fact that you are a mage capable of controlling most of the Zodiac spirits, and have also learned that you possess ten out of twelve of them. I wish to congratulate you on such an accomplishment. I, personally, have not come into contact with someone who has had such luck before._

 _It is alongside such congratulations that I offer you this: an invitation to a party. I know perfectly well that when you joined the guild of Fairy Tail, you gave up such things. You are no longer interested in such high society activities. But I would hope you will accept such an invitation anyways. I suggest you bring a friend, perhaps two or three if you wish._

 _There will be rewards alongside this, of course. Raffles and whatnot will be held._

 _I hope you accept my invitation, as I'm sure your mother and father would have._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Xavier Williams"_

Another page fell into her lap as she read, and when she'd finished, Lucy scooped it up, studying it. It held multiple pieces of information, including the location of the party - a large building a good two days' train ride from Magnolia - and multiple invitations that had been clipped to it.

"A party?" Natsu looked incredulous. "Who would invite you to a party? You've been with Fairy Tail for years now. Almost ten, including the time we were on the island."

Lucy scanned it a third time, then gave a small smile. "It's not just an invitation to a party, Natsu. Someone specifically requested me for a job. With the way this is written, it's likely it was written under someone else's supervision. He's asking for help under the disguise of an invitation, something that I'm willing to bet was wanted by the person pressuring him." She brushed her fingers along the parchment. "I recognize this name...my father used to work alongside this man, long ago."

"Really?" Happy seemed interested, and Lucy offered the blue Exceed the letter as she unattached the invitations from the second paper, appreciating the distraction from the horror of the day.

"Yes. Natsu," she added, addressing the dragon slayer now with pleading eyes. "We have to take this. I know nobody wants to take jobs after what happened, but...he's not a bad man, the one seeking our help. And I doubt I'd be able to do this alone."

He gave her an astonished look. "You think you'd be even allowed to go on a job alone after what happened?"

Of course not. Not when Fairy Tail didn't know what was going on or how what had happened with Elfman had come to be. "You'll go then?"

He snorted. "You didn't need to ask, Luce. We'd be going on the job anyways."

Lucy's lips twitched into her first true smile of the day before disappearing as she became serious. "What about Gray? Erza? Should we wait for them?"

"We can use a communications lacrima crystal," Happy suggested from where he sat beside Lucy, glancing up when Natsu made himself comfortable in preparation for a long conversation.

"That would be a good idea," Lucy murmured, crossing her arms and watching as the fire mage finally wrapped his scarf around his neck again, looking much more at ease after doing so. "We'll call them on it before heading out then, maybe we could meet them halfway."

"We'll just start out in the morning," Natsu said with a large yawn escaping him. "Doubt Mira's gonna want to be bothered anytime soon."

"No," Lucy disagreed. "We have to tell someone. Happy," she said, turning pleading eyes on the Exceed. "Could you go tell Wendy and Charle where we're going tomorrow? I know you're tired, too, but it'd be faster that way, and I don't think either of them have a lacrima…"

"Aye!" Happy said, not looking bothered at all by her request. His wings appeared upon his back and he dove out of the window, making Lucy jump with the speed he did so.

"You," she said, next turning on the tired looking Natsu. "You'll need to run home and change out of those clothes, but make sure you pack those clothes, too, please. You'll need to look cleaned up while we're at that party...if it really is a party, it might be a trap, too…" She pressed her lips together into a hard line. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she didn't want him to leave. The prospect of being alone at the moment wasn't exactly exciting. Not after seeing the strange creature the day before in her family's old home.

Natsu, however, remained oblivious to that. Despite getting comfy on her bed not too long before, he sprang lightly onto his feet, a grin flashing across his face. "Sure thing, Luce. You got a fancy dress to wear?"

"Yes. Not that I've been able to use it. I thought I'd use it on dates and such, but no luck in that department," she said drily. "I'll use it on this job though, so it won't go to waste at least."

He paused, then shrugged. "Okay. I'll be back." He flashed her a special Natsu grin before ducking out of the window as Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation, not even bothering to ask him to leave like any normal person would: through the front door.

Silently, Lucy returned to what she'd been doing before the duo had arrived, her eyes landing warily on her pillow. She didn't really have a choice but to sleep now...she'd need her rest for the next few days, though she supposed she could sleep on the train- no, she couldn't. Natsu would be sick. She wouldn't be able to get a moment's rest with him in the same area as her. Happy, too. The feline wouldn't leave her alone if he didn't have someone to occupy him.

So, with a large amount of reluctance, Lucy unhappily went to bed.

* * *

Lucy wasn't entirely unhappy with the arrangement, but she wasn't exactly in the best of moods either. Her head ached furiously, she was tired, and the train was noisy enough to frustrate her. On the bright side, however, in her eyes, Natsu had provided a very nice distraction, using her lap as a pillow as he had the previous time they'd been on a train. Of course, the last time they'd traveled anywhere had ended badly for her, but it was nice to be on the move again. Gray and Erza would be meeting them in the town near their job's location to prepare for it, and the guild was aware of what they were doing.

Tenderly, Lucy moved some hair out of the dozing Natsu's face, scowling at Happy when he snickered. "One word," she threatened, holding up a fist in warning. "One word, cat, and I'll end your life here and now, got it?"

Happy blinked innocently at her, and Lucy rolled her eyes before muttering, "Damn cat."

The night hadn't been a good one. Nightmares had come and gone until nearly dawn, when, to her half-awakened surprise, Natsu slid back through the window, silently sliding onto the bed beside her, muttering to himself about something she hadn't payed any attention to. She'd merely waited until he'd flopped down, then curled up against him, one hand holding his scarf lightly, the other curled up beneath her head.

She'd slept dreamlessly until Natsu had quietly woken her to pack and get ready to leave so that they were able to keep the train they'd be riding on.

The dragon slayer gave an unhappy groan, and Lucy smirked just lightly before returning to wallowing in her thoughts, which drifted back to the previous day's horrors and her nightmares. The nightmares had been confusing, more so than ever before. One moment she'd be staggering along a twisting and unending road, blood dripping from wounds she couldn't remember receiving, and the next she'd be in a sea of black, voices whispering and shouting and _screaming_ -

She shuddered, cutting her thoughts off there. No need to remember every little detail.

The celestial mage rested her head tiredly against the window, still stroking Natsu's pink hair, the motion soothing. At least she could help someone, even if it wasn't herself. Happy muttered something about Lucy liking Natsu, but she pretended that she hadn't heard it. She really didn't feel like dealing with him at the moment.

And then, suddenly, Natsu's eyes snapped open, any ill look disappearing just a moment before her spine snapped straight, a violent lash of pain racing through her. She muffled the sound, biting her tongue as hard as she could without biting it off, turning her small cry into a simple grunt of pain that she choked on when blood filled her mouth, created by the wound she'd made. The fire mage gave a yelp when the hand that had been affectionately running through his hair seconds before clenched into a fist, accidentally ripping out a few hairs as he sat up quickly. "Lucy?!"

She couldn't respond without screaming, so she simply clenched her teeth, pressing back as hard as she could against the seat to try and see if pressure would help rid her of the pain, but it only made it worse and she quickly leaned forward, giving a hoarse sob. Happy scampered over from his seat, standing in front of her with a fearful look when he realized she wasn't breathing.

Natsu's sharp hearing picked up the lack of a heart beat in an instant, and his already panicked eyes grew wide with terror. " _Lucy?!_ "

And then, a few moments later, she gave a gasp, gulping air down desperately. People in nearby booths had risen to their feet, eyes concerned, but returned to their seats when they realized Lucy was okay and that the dragon slayer accompanying her wasn't exactly eager to let them near her. "I'm okay," she wheezed desperately, spitting blood with a grimace. "I'm okay."

Natsu scowled, looking more than just a little unconvinced. "The hell was that?! Your heart stopped and you're saying you're _okay_?!"

"Sh!" she demanded, trying to shush him, but failing miserably when an aftershock rippled down her spine, making her cringe again and fight back a sound of pain. His eyes darkened furiously, and she hurried to slam a hand over his mouth before he could start shouting. Furious, his hands started flickering with flames, smoke rising into the air, and Lucy hurried to smack at them with her free hand, trying to keep them from lighting the train on fire. Happy was smart enough to keep his own mouth shut and instead said softly, "You don't look okay, Lucy…"

"I'll be fine," she retorted shortly. "It goes away after a while, I promise."

Natsu glared at her, smacking her hand away from his mouth with a murderous look in his eyes. A look she'd only seen him get when fighting people that had dared to harm his nakama more than normal, the look he'd worn when fighting Phantom Lord or Hades. "How many times has it happened?"

"A few," she admitted faintly. "Less than five though. _Please_ ," she suddenly begged, grabbing his arm desperately and giving him an apologetic look when she accidentally spat blood on him. "Don't tell anyone! I don't want people panicking over it! I can handle it."

"You're spitting blood," he snapped, quieter this time, and Lucy gave a small sigh of relief. He was calming down, no longer ready to burn the train and all of the people in it to the ground, but he wasn't happy. "You call that handling it?"

"I have been," she muttered in response, scooping Happy up off the floor to hug him reassuringly, any irritation with him replaced by a nervous fear. "Please, Natsu. Please don't tell Erza or Gray. I'll let you know if it happens again if you do. _Please_."

"...fine," he finally agreed, scowling as he did so. Lucy gave him a grateful look, and he crossed his arms, glaring again. Lucy, realizing she wasn't entirely forgiven, ruffled the strange blue fur on top of Happy's head before setting him beside her. "When did it start happening?"

"Look at you, asking intelligent questions for once," Lucy grumbled under her breath. The blonde rested her head back against her seat, thinking. "Not too long after we got back and after Porlyusica gave me those herbs to help with the healing process." Her eyes narrowed. "Although…when it happened the day before yesterday, when I was going through the Heartfilia estate - don't you start, there's a reason I wanted to go alone. When I was inside, going to grab some things, I saw something. It...it looked like that thing that…" She shook her head, her hands trembling as she clenched them into tight fists in her lap. "It looked a lot like that thing that attacked me."

Natsu's eyes became furious slits, and he gritted his teeth in his anger. "You shouldn't have gone alone, Luce."

She waved his words off. "I'm aware of that _now_. It didn't seem like a big deal when I left. Lisanna promised to keep you busy, so I thought I'd be in and out of there pretty fast. I had one of the moments when I saw it. Another the next day, and then today." She bit her lip. They were slowly getting worse, but she wasn't going to tell the already aggravated fire mage that. Then he would _really_ set their train aflame.

Tired of all of the questions, Lucy felt only a slight stab of guilt when she played a card she'd learned from Erza. "Oh, look," she said with false cheerfulness, grimacing at the suspicious look that appeared instantly on his face. Happy, catching on, returned to his own seat. "The trees over there are going by fast, aren't they?"

It worked immediately. The dragon slayer groaned, looking sick, and Lucy sighed in relief when he slumped backwards to try and pretend he couldn't feel the train lurching around.

"That's cheating," Happy accused, though he didn't look particularly bothered by it.

"I know," Lucy answered. It wasn't as if Natsu would be paying any attention to them now. He'd be focused on trying to not get sicker than he already was. "But it worked."

"Aye," the Exceed agreed with a small sigh.

* * *

Lucy took a deep breath to steady herself. A lot of things were happening in a surprisingly short amount of time, and it was nerve racking. And not just for her, she was certain. She hadn't been blind to the unusual tenseness that had made a permanent residence on her partner. He'd been stressed out by everything as well. Who hadn't?

"Um, Lucy?" Happy's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and Lucy frowned, turning her attention on him. He indicated towards Natsu, and Lucy squeaked, dragging him over to the window.

"IDIOT!" she cried. "If you're going to be sick, do it over here!"

"Thank you, ma'am!" Lucy called, waving gratefully to the helpful woman who'd given them directions to the inn they'd agreed to meet with Gray and Erza at. The woman merely chuckled and waved back, eyes gleaming with unhidden amusement. "Come on, Natsu," she added to the slowly but surely recovering mage. "Let's go. I bet Erza and Gray have already beaten us in getting here."

He grumbled at the thought. "That ice-bastard? Not possible."

"Erza's with him though," Happy reminded as he floated along beside him. "And Erza can move fast."

"They were further from here then we were though," Lucy mused to both of them, shouldering the bag she'd brought. "They shouldn't be here until tomorrow at the latest, and the party will be tomorrow evening...you should be okay by then, right?"

"Dunno," was Natsu's only response, making Lucy smile faintly before returning her attention back on the plan...or lack of, actually. There was no way of coming up with a plan. None of them had a single clue as to what awaited them in the party they'd be attending.

She certainly hoped there _was_ something wrong, and not because it meant they'd earn some money for completing a job, but because she didn't want to deal with Natsu's and Happy's endless teasing for the next month if she'd read into the letter's words too much. For all they knew, it could have been a simple invitation, which, with her background, wasn't too far of a stretch.

"Come on," she said firmly, reaching out to tug lightly on Natsu's arm. He pouted, not looking entirely eager to move at the moment. Not that she could blame him for that, he still looked fairly sick. She hoped that the two days' worth of traveling wouldn't have too many side effects on the poor guy. "I'm sure there's something for you to eat there. I'll go buy some matches for you, too, if you want."

She owed him after the near heart attack she'd given him not too long ago. Why not try to make it up for him before Happy seemed to realize it? Speaking of the Exceed...he was giving her pleading eyes, and she sighed. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll buy you a fish, you damn cat."

"Thank you, Lucy!" Happy said happily, looking eager to get moving now that he'd been promised food as well.

Natsu, as expected, perked up at the thought of food and was back to his normal self within moments, beaming at her. "What are we hanging around here for, then? Let's go!"

The trio set off in the direction the sly looking woman had sent them in.

* * *

 _Things are kicking off, yes? This is where the stuff truly begins. :D I hope you enjoyed this, and thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites! They make me incredibly happy!_


	6. Chapter 5

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

She sat slumped in a chair at a table in the dining room of the inn, her eyes half-shut, her blonde hair unbrushed and still a mess from the endless tossing and turning of the night before. She was more than aware of the two pairs of worried eyes on her, watching her every move, but she ignored them in favor of dozing when she should have been eating breakfast or drinking tea. She should have given in to her weakness rather than her stubborn pride during the night. Then she wouldn't have been in this situation.

When they'd spoken with Erza and Gray, the requip mage had requested two rooms rather than one single room. Confused, they'd agreed, leaving it at that. Assuming Erza meant to give the boys their own room, Natsu and Lucy had agreed to stay in different rooms, Happy joining the celestial mage just in case she had another "attack", as they would proceed to call them. Lucy had been reluctant, nearly as much as Natsu had been to leave her alone, but she'd gone to bed, grudgingly allowing Happy to snuggle against her.

Happy hadn't been able to put a halt to the wild dreams. In fact, the Exceed had given up on sleeping with her after the first one and gone to get Natsu, complaining that he'd been kicked. Neither of them had come into the room after that, but with the amount of food Natsu had put away after their train ride, she wasn't surprised.

It didn't make her feel any better though.

Swallowing a giant mouthful of food, Natsu leaned over to lightly poke her arm. "Luce? You okay?"

"Yeah," she grumbled, "I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night. I'm hoping it'll be better tonight, when Erza's there." Not that the warrior would see what she was so upset about. "I'll be fine later, when I've had to wake up a bit and the others are here. We have a party to go to after all."

"Huh," Natsu grumbled, shoving another bite of food into his hungry mouth. "There'll be food, right?"

Only he would think of that night's meal while eating breakfast. "Yes, Natsu, I'm assuming there'll be food, but I don't think you'll be allowed to eat it all," Lucy sighed in exasperation. "You're going to have to pretend you're rich and well-known. At least a lot of people know about you...just keep the destructiveness you're known for down, and I think you'll be okay." She finally reached for a piece of food, popping a strawberry into her mouth. "Happy, I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to come inside...would you be able to hang around outside in case we need you?"

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "I'll do it, Lucy."

"Thank you." She took another strawberry, then jumped nearly three feet in the air when a hand landed on her shoulder. Her tea tipped, nearly spilling, but Natsu's hand dove out to keep it from doing so. Her head snapped around to stare nervously up at the owner of the hand. And then she relaxed, smiling faintly in greeting at the equally startled Erza. "Hi, Erza. Glad to see you guys made it this soon...I thought it'd be a few more hours before you got here. Hey, Gray."

Gray nodded his greeting, eyeing the food spread out on their table as he seemed to contemplate how much he could steal before Natsu stopped eating and took notice. "No problems," Erza growled at the ice-make mage warningly. "If you provoke Natsu - this goes in reverse, Natsu, don't you laugh - then I will drag you home by your hair. Is that clear?"

"Aye," Natsu squeaked as Gray reluctantly muttered a "Yes, Erza."

"I need some tips on how to do that," Lucy grumbled as they swept seats over to join their nakama at the table. She propped her chin on her open palm. She hesitated for a second, then asked softly, "Happy said he told you guys what happened…?"

Erza's gaze hardened as Gray muttered quietly, "Yeah. He told us. We'll stop by the graves on our way home. You have to pass the area to get to the guildhall anyways."

They fell into a small silence, Erza reaching for some of the strawberries Lucy had been nibbling at and Gray going for a little bit of what Natsu hadn't touched just yet, the dragon slayer glaring at him the entire time. Lucy's lips threatened to curve into a smile, but didn't, and she let her eyes flutter shut. She'd doze while they ate, maybe take a nap before she started getting ready for the fancy party they'd be attending that night. She knew just how long it would take her to get dressed and do her hair and makeup. She'd have plenty of time. And maybe, just maybe, she could convince the energetic Natsu to chill out long enough to keep the nightmares away.

"What were you doing on your last job?" Happy questioned curiously, gnawing away at a raw fish that had been purchased for him in a different location. He looked perfectly content to remain where he was.

"Wasn't that difficult," Gray said, stretching. "All we had to do was track down a few people and capture them. Apparently they were part of a cult that was beginning to get their hands on powerful magic, so the nearby town wanted them dealt with. A few people got away though...we'll have to go after them again."

Lucy cleared her throat, looking pointedly at the ice-make mage. "Gray," she said politely, "Clothes."

His gaze darted down and he swore, leaping to his feet with his head jerking this way and that as he sought out the suddenly missing clothing - which included everything he'd been wearing but his underwear. A few parents glared furiously at him, hiding their children's eyes, and Lucy grimaced upon seeing a few waiters and waitresses mumbling uncertainly to each other. Erza glowered at him until he'd dressed himself again, then gritted out, "As Gray said, we will have to hunt them down. I don't believe it will be long before we are forced to, either."

"Great," Natsu grumbled, "More problems. Just what we need."

Well that didn't sound like Natsu at all, Lucy thought, watching with sympathy as a waitress accidentally dropped a glass, which hit the ground and exploded into shards a second after the sound of a shattering glass filled the air. The waitress groaned, then hurried to start picking up shards carefully with her hands. Lucy studied a black mark on the woman's hand with curiosity before focusing back on her teammate's conversation, which had turned on other matters.

"I don't have a suit with me," Gray admitted grudgingly. "Didn't even think to stop at my place and grab it before we came, and we passed right through Magnolia."

"We'll just get you a new one then," Erza told him firmly. "You cannot skip out on this, Gray. Lucy." She focused on the red-haired woman, brown eyes tired enough to make Erza pause for a moment before chugging ahead with her question. "Your father worked with this man?"

"Yeah," she answered, sipping at her tea with narrowed eyes. "Not for very long, though. Only for a month or so. But I remember him coming by once or twice after my mom died. I think he was trying to help my father come up with something big that would benefit both of them, but they never succeeded." She gave a dry smile. "I'm glad they didn't, because my hand in marriage was one of the terms. To his son, who wasn't very well liked by anyone that met him."

Natsu glared. "Will this guy be at the party?"

Lucy shook her head. "I don't know. I hope not. He's a nuisance." She sat back, crossing her arms with a small sigh. "Anyways...Erza. Gray." Both glanced to her. "I was thinking, and I didn't know if you've ever been to one of these? We all went to a fancy party after the Grand Magic Games, I know, but that was a bit different. People had already seen how we usually act beforehand."

"Hm," Erza murmured, "I don't believe I have."

"Nah," Gray answered, tossing a bit of food into his mouth. "Never been around the wealthy outside of working for 'em. And all they do is pay you when you're done."

Lucy scrubbed a hand down her face with a sound of exasperation. "Okay, then. But I'm hoping you guys at least know how to _not_ act. I mean, we've helped out these kind of people before...but we'll have to be careful. Did Happy tell you two what I thought about the letter I received?" When they shook their heads, she shot Happy a look, and the Exceed gave her a sheepish look. "Okay, so I think it was a letter asking for our help," she told them. "It mentioned a reward, mentioned what kind of magic I use, that sort of thing. And my father was forced out of that lifestyle years before his death, which means we'll have to be even more careful than usual. I think Xavier Williams was under supervision when he wrote it."

"What could people possibly want with inviting you?" Erza said thoughtfully, puzzled. She bit into one of the strawberries, her gaze hardening. "It doesn't matter. We'll deal with whatever issue arises, and it may just turn out to be a party anyways. We will take precautions, however. Make sure you bring your keys, Lucy."

"I know," Lucy murmured.

Natsu, _finally_ having finished what must have been enough food for a dozen families, spoke up suddenly. "Does it matter if we blend in or not? We could just ask the guy himself and burn whoever's threatening him." He grinned, sparks flying from his fingers in his eagerness.

"Natsu," Erza gritted out. "It is not always so easy. We'll have to take caution. Remember: if there was someone we'll be fighting against, they ordered an invitation to be sent to Lucy. That means they are well aware of who she is friends with and who she would likely bring with her. Us. They may know of our own magic and be able to turn it against us. It's happened before."

"Even more of a reason for us to blow things up before they realize we're there," he argued.

Gray rolled his eyes, exchanging an annoyed look with Lucy, and Happy snickered, having finished his fish long ago. "Natsu, are you trying to get us killed? If they know about us, like Erza said, they'll have the power to use our own strength against us."

Grumbling, Natsu crossed his arms and leaned back, a scowl planted firmly on his face. Lucy had to fight back the smirk on her face. The idiot needed to learn. Leaping into action headfirst wasn't always the best idea...but she had to give him credit. Sometimes it _did_ work.

Not this time, though. This time would require precision.

But first...she needed a nap.

* * *

Lucy quickly took a final glance at her reflection, reluctant to follow Erza out of the room. She knew she was dressed perfectly for the party they were about to attend, in a deep midnight blue evening gown with layers upon layers of silk that bunched at her right hip and spread out around her heel-clad feet to trail across the floor as she walked. It had sleeves that pulled down past her hands to hide her Fairy Tail emblem, but they were made of equally dark lace that stood out against her pale skin, and her hair had been piled carefully atop of her head in a bun that allowed a few select pieces to fall around her decorated face.

But...there was still that nagging anxiety that plagued her. The hope that this wouldn't be just a party had reversed and she now found herself desperately pleading for it to be something they'd be able to simply enjoy. But she knew better. She always did. Natsu was around, which meant there was more than likely going to be some kind of danger.

With a sigh, Lucy grabbed her keys and followed Erza out the door and into the hall. The rest of their companions would be waiting for them outside, Erza had told her, and it was time to get going. Being late would _not_ do well to help them act as if they weren't suspicious.

Lucy tucked her keys safely into the front of her dress - she shuddered to think of what Taurus and Loke would be saying about this - and gathered up her dress so she wouldn't step on it or trip and fall on her face as she descended the inn's stairs and made her way out the front door, well aware of the eyes that landed on she and the glowering Requip mage.

"Disgusting," Erza scoffed as she stepped out of the building, standing beside Gray, who'd been dressed in his immaculate new suit, purchased only hours before. He looked uncomfortable to be in it, and he muttered quietly under his breath - earning a glare from Erza. Lucy shuddered. Note to self: don't upset Erza, who was in a bad mood for some reason or another. The requip mage had dressed in a simply black evening gown, looking elegant yet dangerous as she grudgingly looped her arm through Gray's. Acting was all part of their masquerade, and Gray had agreed to be Erza's "escort".

Natsu was there, too, of course, also wearing a suit. Lucy recognized it immediately as the one he'd worn to the funeral only days before. The scarf Igneel had given him was still wrapped around his neck, of course, and Lucy knew he was just daring Erza to tell him to take it off. But she didn't, and a light flush appeared on Natsu's face as Lucy stopped beside him, a brilliant smile appearing on her face in greeting. "Come on," he muttered, looking away. "Let's go."

Lucy didn't know _why_ she felt a flash of disappointment, but she ignored it in favor of copying Erza and gingerly winding her arm through the pink-haired dragon slayer's. Happy snickered as flew around their heads, waiting for them to get a move on and musing about how Natsu liked Lucy, earning a glower from both people.

"We'll be walking to the place, it's not too far away from here," Lucy informed them as she started forward, Natsu keeping pace beside her with ease. "Maybe a ten minute's walk once we get out of town. Just…" Her eyes darted up to lock momentarily with Natsu's, who'd glanced down at her. "Watch out for shadows."

As expected, it took them no time whatsoever to reach the large mansion, where the party was being hosted. It was decorated beautifully from top to bottom, probably by the servants hired to work there in exchange for a bit extra on their paychecks. Other people were gathering, all dressed in extravagant clothing, their eyes as cold as she expected. These people held no care for each other, only for the possible income of money they might gather tonight. Lucy looked over her shoulder at Happy, who'd reverted to walking with them. "Time to go, Happy."

"Aye!" The Exceed gave them a salute, then darted off to hang out in some hidden place he thought would be a good place to stay for the time being.

"Shall we enter?" Erza asked calmly as Gray tugged at his collar, glowering at the ground when Erza smacked his hand away. They'd all agreed that one priority would be getting Gray to keep his clothes on until at least they'd figured out what was going on.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "Erza, you and Gray keep an eye out for trouble. Natsu and I will find Xavier Williams...okay?"

"Got it," Gray muttered, looking confident. "And if any trouble comes up, we've got it handled."

"You better," Lucy replied. She grinned at him, a smile he returned as he affectionately elbowed her when they passed to enter the building after presented their invitations to someone who demanded to see them. It was good to know that they were back on friendly terms again. "Come on, Natsu. Let's see if we can find them."

He nodded, sticking close to her as they, too, stepped inside. Lucy grimaced at the familiar stiffness of the party, but merely greeted a complete stranger with politeness. Natsu made a face as she chatted with them about something random for a few moments before asking, "Have you seen our host around? I wanted to thank him for inviting me."

The woman shook her head. "No. I haven't seen Xavier around here anywhere...nor his wife for that matter. Neither of them have shown their faces yet, it's strange. Usually they're down here mingling with us. I bet it's the baby." She smiled brightly at Lucy. "His daughter asked them to watch their grandchild for this weekend, and his wife has been tending to his every need. He's quite the adorable one."

"Hm, I see," Lucy murmured thoughtfully. Natsu tugged her away after that, and she glared up at him. "You can't be rude if we're going to try and find -"

"Something's wrong." He tapped his nose briefly to show what he meant, and she fell silent, gaze searching the large room for Erza and Gray. She caught sight of them hanging in the shadows of the room, sipping quietly at some champagne that had been offered to them. If it came down to it, she could always summon Loke, who always looked ready for such a party, and send him to fetch them if needed...of course, Natsu's fire would also do that with less possibility of remaining unnoticed…

"What is it?" she demanded, lowering her voice.

"Smells like-" He cut off, shaking his head. "Nevermind. Come on. We need to get going and find that guy. Think he'll be in a different room?"

"Probably," Lucy agreed. "If he's not in here when he usually is, then something _is_ going on. But, Natsu, what did you-"

He interrupted her by suddenly pushing her away, towards the side of the room, keeping close with a dark look in his onyx eyes. It didn't take long for Erza and Gray to make their appearance nearby, and Natsu gritted his teeth, flames threatening to rise at his fingertips. Lucy wasn't blind to the shards of ice gleaming on Gray's hands or the way Erza was fidgeting, ready to requip in a moment's notice, so she quickly plucked her keys out of their hiding place in preparation, ignoring the startled look Natsu gave her. "Natsu!" she demanded. "What did you smell, hear, or whatever?"

"There's some kind of dark magic around here," he answered with a scowl, his eyes scanning the people around them. "Like Elfman smelled like."

"There's a possibility someone similar to him might be running around then?" Gray said, astonished. " _Laxus_ had to take the guy down. If there's more than one of people like that running around, we're-"

"Sh!" Lucy said suddenly, pressing her finger to her lips and hiding her keys behind her back. "Look!"

The people attending the party had suddenly quieted, turning their attention on a man that had suddenly appeared, his eyes glancing nervously around, his hair streaked with gray. _Xavier Williams_ , Lucy realized, tugging pointedly on Natsu's sleeve. He nodded to show he understood. The man nervously swallowed, then said, his deep voice quivering just barely enough that most wouldn't notice, "Thank you all for attending this party. I apologize for my lack of presence up until this point and hope you will all forgive me." He flashed a blinding smile. "I have been seeing to my wife and grandchild. Both of them are sick, you see, and our servants are busy seeing to all of you. Continue to enjoy yourselves, and I will join you soon." He bowed his head to finish his small speech, then turned away.

Lucy dove forward, ignoring Natsu's surprised and worried protest. He pushed through people after her, calling to the other two to stay put. Lucy was surprised when they actually listened, not following as she caught Xavier's sleeve upon escaping the groups of people filling the room, panting for breath. "Mr. Williams!"

He ripped away from her in shock, his eyes flashing with fear as she stumbled back in surprise. Natsu caught her lightly by the elbow and glared warily at him. "Um...c-can I...can I help you?"

Lucy caught her breath, then said with a slight smile, "I apologize for scaring you, Mr. Williams. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and my friend here is Natsu Dragneel. We're members of Fairy Tail. You sent me a letter not too long ago."

The surprise faded from his face, replaced by sheer terror. "You came? With Salamander?"

"And Titania and Gray Fullbuster," Lucy answered in a soothing voice. "Our Exceed friend is hanging around outside, too. I thought there might be something wrong, and you said to bring people, so I did. Was I wrong?"

"N-no." Xavier shook his head. "No, you were right. There's…" He took a deep breath. "Some people broke in nearly a week ago. They managed to overpower all of my security. They had my wife and our grandson, and they told me to contact you, to bring you here, Miss Heartfilia. I'm sorry."

Lucy waved his words off with a reassuring look. "Don't worry. We'll help you out. Who are "they"? Are they using magic?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It's kind of...I think it's magic, but it's not at the same time. There's something off about them." Xavier's gaze darted to Natsu. "Thank you," he said softly, "Thank you so much."

Natsu surprised both of them by flashing the man a broad grin, his onyx eyes steely. "Not a problem. Can't have a kid in trouble." He glanced to the celestial mage. "Stick with this guy, Luce. I'll sniff the jerks out and see what I can find."

"Be careful, Natsu," she warned, then waved for Xavier to follow her. "Come on, Mr. Williams. You and I are going to head over- oof!" She turned to lead him away and came face to face with a glowering young man, dressed in expensive clothing. He shot her a dirty look, and she uncertainly tripped backwards a few steps. Natsu, who'd been about to head off, stopped to make sure she was alright, glaring at him.

"You invited me here to talk, Xavier!" the man said in a loud bitter tone. "You said you had an offer for me! So why haven't we spoken in the entire hour I've already been here?"

"I'm sorry," Xavier said weakly, "I have been taking care of my family as you're aware. Now, if you'll excuse me, our conversation will have to wait, as this young lady here knows how to care for them-"

His eyes moved to Lucy, who tensed, her hands tight around her keys. "...Lucy Heartfilia?" He scoffed, unimpressed. Lucy grimaced. There weren't many who didn't recognize her, especially after most of Fairy Tail's strongest members disappearing into a seven year sleep. "Shouldn't she be messing around with that ridiculous guild of hers? What are you doing here, girl?" He sneered at her, ignoring the dangerous look Natsu was beginning to send his way. "Go home. We don't appreciate your sort around here."

Lucy smiled charmingly, reaching out to grab Natsu's wrist, squeezing it as a reminder. They weren't to cause too much harm. "Mr. Williams invited me," she replied shortly, "and my friend Salamander as honorable guests. Right, Natsu?"

Natsu smirked at the startled man, who turned his attention onto the fire dragon slayer, his face paling slightly at the look of rage dancing in his eyes and the flames just barely flickering at his fingertips. "Err," he stammered, "I apologize, Salamander. Of course we can talk at a later time, Xavier, now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Bastard," Natsu grumbled as soon as he'd left the vicinity. Lucy smacked his arm with a sigh, then pushed him forward.

"Go," she ordered, "People are in trouble, and we need to hurry and get them out of it. I'll take Mr. Williams to meet Erza and Gray and explain what's going on. When you find out where they are, come back and get the rest of us before you attack. _Please_."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu agreed eagerly. He shot her a final grin before darting away, navigating through the throngs of people with ease.

Lucy shook her head, turning to Xavier with a sigh. "Excuse him, please. He can be an idiot sometimes...why don't I take you to meet Fairy Tail's Titania? I'm sure she wouldn't mind meeting you, though I'll warn you beforehand. She's in a cranky mood tonight…"

* * *

It seemed like _hours_ before Natsu finally came back from searching for whatever he'd taken so long looking for. And when he did return, he scared Lucy half to death by suddenly throwing an arm around her shoulders, not apologizing or saying a word before setting to work on murmuring what he'd found in her ear.

"The lady and the kid are in a room a couple stories up," he muttered, eyes searching the attendees as he did so. "There's a couple dozen people, stationed in various areas around this room and the one they're in. We'll get to have fun getting rid of them, right?"

"So long as you don't destroy everything, more than likely yes," Lucy answered with a sigh, her voice quiet as she watched Erza, Gray, and the anxious Xavier Williams chat eagerly to each other. The wealthy man didn't look as concerned anymore, more relieved, as if he believed they'd be able to truly help he and his family. "Please tell me nobody noticed you."

"Don't think so. I was fast."

"Good." She playfully reached up to tug on a lock of pink hair before clearing her throat to catch their friends' and Xavier's attention. "Natsu says there's a few people in here, probably keeping an eye out for us, or have already noticed us…"

"They probably have if they wanted you here, which means they know the rest of us are here," Gray commented, tugging at his collar. Erza carefully swatted his hand away, glaring at him, and he huffed, crossing his arms instead.

"Gray's right," Erza agreed. Her eyes copied Natsu's, carefully studying each person in the room. "Xavier, would you be capable of identifying any of them?"

He shook his head. "I've only spoken with their leader, Miss Scarlet."

"I see. Where is their leader?"

"With my wife and grandson."

"Guy with the weird looking thing covering his face?" Natsu questioned. Xavier nodded in response, and Lucy pursed her lips thoughtfully. "He was the one that smelled most like that stuff. Don't touch him if you can avoid it."

"Don't touch him?" Lucy was dumbfounded. "Why?"

He glanced at her, then gave a shrug. "I dunno. Just think nobody should. It gives me a bad feeling." Without further explanation, he let flames dance along his fingers. "Can we have some fun now, Luce?"

Lucy's lips twitched into a smile. "Go ahead," she sighed at last. "Try not to destroy the building. You deal with the people in here. Gray and I will head upstairs...Erza? Could you help the innocent ones get out? Mr. Williams, you'll go with Erza. Gray and I will make sure your wife and grandson get out safe. Happy will be hanging out there, send him to help out Natsu."

"Of course." Erza stepped forward, requipping into a set of armor. Her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Lucy realized. She was serious. And with the massive metallic wings extending from her back, she was noticed immediately, other people staring at her in astonishment and confusion, backing away.

And then Natsu _really_ let the flames light up, grinning broadly as he readied them. Lucy grabbed Gray's arm, dragging him towards a set of doors off to the side. "Come on," she said, just as Natsu ducked to avoid a stream of boiling water, eyes gleaming excitedly. People screamed and fled, Erza shouting for them to follow her as they did so, ignoring the dozens of them that brushed against her. Xavier kept close to Fairy Tail's Titania.

Lucy and Gray slipped through the set of doors at the back undetected by those distracted by Natsu, and Lucy cursed her dress as she kicked her heels off while running. Gray kept close, not leaving her to fend for herself - something she was grateful for, she didn't think she could handle dealing with one of these dark mages by herself.

She groaned when she came to a very sudden realization.

They didn't know their ways around the building!

Well, Natsu had said the wife and grandson were up a few floors, so there was that to start with… "Look for stairs," she told Gray as they ran. He nodded, and she couldn't stop the smile on her face when she realized he'd lost the top pieces of his suit, leaving his own Fairy Tail emblem for everyone to see. Not that they wouldn't guess with her being invited and Natsu spewing fire everywhere.

They ducked around a corner, and Lucy yelped when she slammed into something hard. Gray was jerking her back in an instant, ice shards filling the air around his hands as he slid into a battle-ready stance, hands held at the ready out in front of him. Lucy took one look at the person she'd run into and felt her face pale. A strange mask hid most of his face from their view, excluding the piercing eyes that stared at them from holes made specifically for that reason. He wore a cloak, wrapped tightly around him, but when he shifted back, a hand raising, Lucy saw the thick armor he wore, his hand covered with a thin silk glove.

And then she saw the small black crackling ball forming in his palm.

Gray cursed. "Ice-Make: Shield!"

Ice splintered when it hit the shield, and there was dead silence.

* * *

 _Some more interesting things happened, yes? ^_^ Hope you enjoyed, and thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. They are DEFINITELY words of encouragement. ;)_


	7. Chapter 6

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Lucy's dark eyes fluttered open, a weak groan of pain escaping her as she sat up slowly, rubbing her head as she tried to clear her mind of the blurriness. How long had she been unconscious?

"Damn it!"

A blast of ice entered her vision, just moments away from striking her, and she gasped, rolling out of the way and shoving herself to her feet. Okay, so she hadn't been out for very long. She reached for her keys, which had fallen to the ground, letting her fingers wrap around Virgo's key. Gray swore, sending an Ice-Make: Lance attack at their opponent, who merely chuckled darkly, a wall of black deflecting the blow. The ice-make mage looked fairly beat up, already covered in various wounds, and Lucy felt a flash of guilt. It was always him getting injured.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder. Surely Erza would have evacuated the people and would be returning soon, right? Or Natsu would have dealt with the people below and would come to help soon. Her gaze settled on their enemy and the space he stood in front of. There was a huge flight of stairs behind him, which meant that they were getting closer.

"Look out!" Lucy's head snapped up at Gray's shout and she dove out of the way when a ball of black energy crashed into the spot she'd been standing in. She winced when some strange searing heat nicked at her, slicing a deep gash in her arm, but ignored it, instead darting forward. "Gray! Keep distracting him," she called, somehow managing to duck around the furious enemy as she made a run for the stairs.

Gray grinned. "On it!" Before the strangely cloaked man could do anything to stop her, he launched a full out ice attack on him, effectively keeping him from sending any more of his strange black energy after her.

Lucy stormed up the stairs, panting for breath as she turned to climb another flight, thoughts racing through her mind.

" _There's a couple dozen people, stationed in various areas around this room and the one they're in._ "

If Natsu was correct, then she'd have to be careful and pray that someone showed up to help her upon reaching their goal, because while she knew she could match some people in strength, she was nowhere near capable of fending off more than one mage at a time. Virgo's key was still held tightly in her hand, which had been slicked with the blood that dripped down her arm, striking the floor with the soft sound of dripping liquid.

She ducked behind a corner when she caught sight of someone approaching, watching as they raced down the stairs without noticing her. Two or three more were close behind, all hissing words to each other, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she wasn't discovered. So this was the floor their captives were hidden on. She swept down the hall at a run when she thought it safe. She paused at every room she came across to check for them, but found nothing.

So it made sense that the second the last door was opened, she had to duck to avoid a wall of stone sent flying at her head. A mage, dressed in a cloak similar to the leader's, glared at her. Lucy caught sight of a sobbing woman holding a wailing infant behind him, entrapped within a stone cage, probably created by the very mage she found herself fighting against.

"Ah, Miss Heartfilia."

She whirled around, the blood draining from her face when the leader of the group appeared behind her. Part of his mask had been cracked, she noticed with satisfaction. She just hoped Gray was okay. The stone mage relaxed, smirking and cackling now. "Stay back," she warned, preparing to summon Virgo's key.

"I'm glad you could make it," he went on as if she hadn't said anything. His voice was muffled by the mask, but not enough to hide the power behind it. "We didn't intend for such damage to happen, you understand. You see, we merely wanted to check up on you. We only wished to see how you were doing after my pet attacked you." Lucy's eyes became slits as she glared at him, her grip on Virgo's key tightening enough that her knuckles became white. "Feeling alright? Any lasting damage?"

"Shut up," Lucy gritted out. Still, she found herself curious. These people had been the ones in charge of the _thing_ that had nearly killed her. _Why_ did they have such a creature under their control?! "Shut up right now."

"Ah, so there has been?" His tone was smug. "I apologize, but it's a necessary part of our work, you see. I doubt you'll ever understand, but this is all to help our cause." He paused, then continued. "Our cause is an important one, but I won't explain it to such a simpleton. Perhaps you will learn of the truth when you are dead. Now. If you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to...kill her. We're behind schedule, and that Salamander brat is causing me problems alongside Titania and the ice-make one." He swept out of the room without another word.

Before Lucy could even move a muscle, something hard slammed into her back, sending her sprawling forward as she fought to catch her breath, her eyes wide with shock. The whoosh of something soaring through the air had her rolling away to avoid another wall of stone slamming into her - this time aiming to crush her head - and she held her key out, gasping, "Virgo!"

To her relief, the Celestial Spirit appeared in an instant, blocking the wall of stone with a startled look in her eyes, as if completely lost as to what was going on. Lucy winced when shards of the sharp stone clattered to the ground, then scrambled to her feet, ordering, "Virgo. Deal with that guy- Virgo?!"

Virgo stared at her hands with shock...or her lack of hands, to be precise. She whirled to face Lucy with widened eyes, solemnly apologizing, "Forgive me, Princess, I don't believe I am capable of assisting you at this moment. You're-"

The second she'd disappeared, Lucy was horrified to discover black marks racing up and down Virgo's key, constricting tighter and tighter until quite suddenly, the key shattered into thousands of pieces. Too shocked, Lucy didn't even try to avoid the attack the laughing Stone mage launched at her, letting him slam her viciously into the hard wall and driving the breath from her with the force of which she hit it. Black spots decorated her vision for a second and she wheezed for air when she hit the ground.

The stone mage only grinned, kicking at the shards of Virgo's key as he approached. Just as he reached out to grab Lucy by the hair, however, fingers only a breath's away from grabbing her, an explosive amount of flames swept through the doors, engulfing him in searing hot fire that made Lucy cringe away instinctively though she doubted it would hurt her.

"Natsu," she gasped in relief, forcing a faint smile to her face when the dragon slayer stormed into the room, onyx eyes furious. Flames exploded from his hand, sending the stone mage flying back and _through_ the wall, his screaming fading away as he fell from the sixth story of the building.

And then there was silence. Lucy slowly staggered to her feet, making her way over to him, and he glanced at her, eyes scanning her form to make sure she was okay. "You took forever," she rasped, tears forming in her eyes as she took in the golden dust that had once been a Celestial Spirit's key.

His gaze followed hers. "What is that?" he questioned curiously.

"Virgo," she whispered. "Virgo's...I can't summon her anymore...she's gone."

Natsu said nothing, only watched her for a moment before gently ruffling her already messed up hair. They could grieve later, but now they had work to do. So, he said simply, "You're gonna have to get a new dinner dress, Luce, yours is all messed up now."

Lucy gave a choked laugh, wiping at her eyes. "Jerk," she muttered, then started forward, intent on helping the older woman and the still screaming child she held. "Hold on for just a little bit longer," she told her gently, "We'll have you out of there soon, I promise."

"Thank you," she whispered back, tears rolling down her cheeks. Lucy's eyes softened and she reached through the bars to gently touch the infant's cheek - only to have Natsu jerk her hand out from between the bars, growling, "Don't touch them."

"Natsu!" she snapped. "It's not like-"

He cut her off by pointing at the child's arm. Lucy peered closer, then bit her lip sorrowfully. Small black spirals were slowly creeping along the baby's arm, inching slowly but surely upwards. The woman herself had some creeping along the left side of her face, and Lucy hurriedly tucked her arm against her side. "Oh," she said softly. "I'm so sorry. We can't...we can't let you or the child out."

"I don't understand," Xavier's wife stammered. "Why aren't you helping us? Xavier said you'd help us!"

Natsu's gaze was dark as he said gently, "We can't help you. Even if we could, it'd be too late. Those marks...the last time we saw them, we had to kill our nakama because he tried to kill us."

Her eyes snapped wide in terror. "Then...please, at least try and help our grandson," she pleaded softly. "He's-he's not even a year old yet!"

"There's nothing we can do," Lucy murmured, shaking her head. She moved to apologize again when the woman began to bawl into the child's hair, her body shaking. But then Lucy suddenly toppled over with a soft grunt of pain when it ripped through her body. She hit the ground hard, but didn't feel it, only aware of the lack of air she was trying to suck into her lungs.

Natsu cursed, dropping beside her, hands resting lightly on her shoulders and pinning her down when she jerked, wheezing desperately, the sound strangled. "Lucy!" he gritted out, panic flashing through him when he found no heartbeat echoing in a reassuring thud from her chest. She grabbed desperately at his arms, trying to shove him away, but he kept her pinned, ignoring the hysterical questions of the woman nearby. "Lucy!"

It was as if fire was racing through her veins, burning her from the inside out, and the only sound she could get out was a strangled scream that he cut off with a hand over her mouth, careful not to stop any attempts at breathing. Black spots threatened to overwhelm her until suddenly, the pain faded slightly. Her heart began racing in her chest, and she sucked in desperate ragged gasps after shoving his hand away from her mouth, still clutching his arms with a pale face. "Luce?" he murmured, gently pushing some hair from her face, not bothered by the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," she wheezed, her voice a barely there rasp. "I-I'm fine. Just...ow." She threw an arm over her eyes, tensing up as an aftershock washed through her, dancing up and down her spine before disappearing again. "I need...I want to…" She couldn't finish her sentence, thoughts racing, unable to come up with a clear idea of what she wanted.

"We're finished here, Happy can take you back to the inn to get some rest while we finish the details." He frowned, a fairly pissed off look on his face. He wasn't happy about this. Something was harming his nakama, and he hated it. Lucy recognized the meaning of the look and lightly patted his arm before attempting to sit up, wincing but capable of doing so.

"Thanks," she rasped shakily, grimacing at the state of her once beautiful dress. It had been destroyed in fighting. So much for using it to go on a date. Oh, well.

And then there was an unnatural shrieking laugh that made both of them whip around to face the cage that contained Xavier's wife and the infant - just in time to watch as she literally ripped the child into pieces with claws that she hadn't had before. Lucy couldn't help the scream that escaped her, her hands clasping over her mouth in her horror. Black marks swirled up and down Xavier's wife, wrapping around her throat, her face, her arms. Everywhere, from head to toe, leaving almost no normal skin as she grinned, licking blood from her hand, her eyes sparkling as she studied the bloody pieces in delight.

Natsu gritted his teeth, jerking Lucy gently to her feet and pushing her towards the door. "Go check on the others. Don't let anyone touch you."

"Natsu?" she mumbled uncertainly, feeling sick when she realized what he was about to do.

"Go," he ordered, cracking his knuckles with an unhappy look. Natsu didn't like killing people. She was almost sure that nobody in Fairy Tail - not even Gajeel - did. So, without another word, she touched his arm, then hurried away, covering her ears with her hands like a child when agonized screams filled the air as the woman began to burn to death.

* * *

Natsu wasn't back yet, and she was worried, especially after what had happened to Erza.

The red-haired warrior had suddenly found herself faced with the decision of killing several people who had ended up like Elfman and Xavier's wife, and had ended up doing just what was necessary to keep other people alive and safe. Erza had slaughtered every person with the black marks swirling around them and then retreated back to the inn to hide, upset over what she'd been forced to do.

Lucy, Gray, and Happy on the other hand had let her leave before setting to work on different necessary things. Telling Xavier what had happened, something Lucy had decided to do, had been the worst of it all. She'd never forget the pain and betrayal in his eyes as he screamed at them to leave his destroyed home, warning them that if they ever came around the building again, he'd ruin Fairy Tail. Not that any of them had believed that possible. How many times had people tried and failed?

"We didn't get there in time," Lucy murmured mournfully, guilt spiraling through her. "If we'd gotten to the mansion sooner, maybe we could have saved all of those people who died…"

Happy wordlessly patted her arm from where he was sitting beside her in the grass outside the inn. Gray grunted in response from his own place on her other side. They didn't want the company of the clueless cheerful people in the building behind them, nor did they want the closed in walls around them. They needed the calmness the outside air brought.

"I don't think we could have," Gray said suddenly. He'd lost the majority of his clothes by this point though he'd managed to keep a pair of pants on. His eyes were cast downward, his brow furrowed in thought. "They must have had it days before we got there. From what I've seen, whatever it is takes a while to affect the people who have it. Elfman must have traveled like he did for over a day before he got to the guildhall...they found Jet and Droy's bodies nearly three towns over. That's four days of traveling. He was fine when they left."

"Whatever it is," Lucy said softly, "I think Natsu's right. We should avoid touching anyone with it. I'm not sure how it starts, though...so we'll just have to be careful."

"Laxus and Lisanna both touched Elfman, Lucy," Happy said nervously. "And Mira touched Lisanna…"

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "We'll just have to be careful and hope none of them got whatever it is then. What concerns me is that Mira is...well, Mira get's close to everyone. Even when she's upset."

Gray glanced back at the inn. "They have one of the communication lacrima crystals in there. You can use it for a fee. I can contact the master and tell him of our thoughts. They can quarantine those three and anyone that's touched them until we're sure they're okay. I'm sure Freed would be able to set up some barriers."

"Would they be strong enough to hold Mira and Laxus though?" Lucy bit her lip. She'd seen both in battle, and they were strong. Mavis help them if they actually ended up wanting to get out and used a Unison Raid…

"We'll have to wait and see," Gray said with a shrug. "They held Mira back when Laxus decided to be an ass. Don't know about them using their magic together though. Doesn't seem likely. I'll go see what they have to say about it. If they haven't lost their minds, I know Mira will agree to it, alongside Lisanna. It's Laxus we have to worry about. Stay out here, wait for Natsu to come back. He might just be finishing up wherever he is. I'm gonna check on Erza, too." He shoved himself to his feet, gently ruffled Lucy's still messy hair, then disappeared into the inn.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Happy said confidently. "Natsu will be back soon." The Exceed glanced up at her, eyes gleaming, and the Celestial mage sighed and flopped backwards.

"I know," she mumbled, letting guilt wash over her.

If only they'd been a few days earlier…

Her thoughts suddenly turned on Virgo, and grief swamped her. What had _happened_?! What had happened to her friend? Why had she disappeared like that? Never before had that happened...was she infected, too? Was that why the key had turned black and shattered into golden powder?

Her mind snapped to the marking on her back and she narrowed her eyes. Was it _her_ fault everyone was getting into such a state?

"Lucy!" Happy cried suddenly, jumping up and pointing. She sat up, following where the Exceed had pointed, and relief filled her as Natsu slouched over and slumped down onto the ground beside them, his dark eyes looking tired. His clothing was torn in a few places, and even singed, something that rarely happened. His scarf, of course, was wrapped around his neck, not a single thing wrong with it.

"Hey," he grumbled, not looking at them.

She didn't ask him what was wrong. She knew. He'd had to kill what would have been an innocent person, just like Erza had. "Gray's gone to speak with Master Makarov, Natsu. He's going to ask them to look into keeping those that touched Elfman away from the rest of the guild."

"Good." Natsu grimaced, glancing at her. She forced herself to weakly smile, but it disappeared quickly. "You okay? After earlier?"

"Still a bit sore, but I'm fine other than that," she answered with a confident tone. "It's Erza I'm worried about...she said a couple of the attendees turned into what Elfman did, Natsu. She had to…" Lucy trailed off, shaking her head. "Erza's tough...she's had to kill before...but something about this…"

"They were innocent," he whispered. "They shouldn't have died, Luce."

She fell silent, biting her lip. She was in complete agreement with him, of course, but it didn't make it any easier to think of them as innocent after watching Xavier's wife tear a child in half. Happy glanced up at Natsu with concern in his eyes. He was, after all, Happy's closest companion, and when Natsu was upset, he was, too.

"Nobody deserves to have their lives taken from them," she said simply in response. "Not even the bad guys. But people are cruel and this is what happens." Lucy shook her head. "You did the right thing, Natsu. It wasn't pleasant. It was horrible, and you feel bad about it, I know, but it was the right thing to do. Now she'll hopefully be at peace. I doubt she'd blame us."

"Aye!" Happy said, "Besides. She'd have probably escaped and gone after you guys anyways!"

Lucy shot him a grateful look, then looked over when she heard someone call their names. "Gray! You're done already? That was fast."

Gray gave a grim smile. "There wasn't much information to relay over, Lucy. I told them what we thought, and Master agreed...but…" A mournful look crossed his face and Lucy felt her face pale in anticipation of what he was going to say next. "It's Lisanna." Natsu's head snapped around. "She's dead. They discovered the markings on her just a few hours before she turned insane and separated her from the others. She attacked Bisca when she was bringing her some food, and...Bisca didn't have a choice. She shot her. Master's ordering Laxus, Mira, Bisca away and probably are going to separate Alzack and Asuka from the rest of the guild, as well."

Natsu stared blankly at the ice-make mage for a few moments before his expression suddenly darkened into a look of pure rage. With a roar of fury, fire exploded from his hands, effectively destroying one of the nearby trees and sending the few people on the nearby street scattering with screams. Lucy winced, cringing away in surprise and fear. She scooped up Happy and darted back to stand beside Gray in an attempt to avoid being burned alive.

"Have they figured out what it is?" she asked, her voice emotionless. She couldn't summon any more grief than she already had. She felt numb.

"Master's having those that are separated from everyone look into it." Gray gritted his teeth suddenly, clenching his jaw. "Lucy, Erza has to be separated from everyone, too. Think of all those people she touched when getting them out. And some of them turned out to be the monsters that it makes them into."

Despair filled her. "No," she whispered, watching as Natsu decided to take his anger out on another tree. "Not Erza, too… I'm sure she'll be okay, she always is when stuff like this happens!"

"I talked to her about it, she'll be leaving as soon as people have stopped partying or whatever they're doing in there." Gray rubbed a hand down his face, his gaze dark. "Something big is going on, Lucy. We need to start watching what we do, even more than we usually do. If we don't, we could end up in a bad situation."

"So many people have already…" Lucy shook her head, exasperated. "What are we going to do?! Some of the people who have this thing aren't even _mages_ , Gray! Do you know how many people might have this? If it spreads…"

"It already has," Happy said in a small voice. He looked nearly terrified and despite Lucy's annoyance with the blue cat, she felt a flash of sympathy for the poor thing.

"Happy's right," Gray agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "We'll have to restrict a lot of the jobs we take because of this. We've never seen anything this big before, Lucy. It won't end well. I heard someone inside talking about a guy destroying an entire town recently. If one of our S-Class mages manages to fail to escape it, we could be in serious trouble."

Natsu gave a wordless shout, flames exploding from his fingertips to light a third tree ablaze. Lucy winced when someone screamed at him, threatening to call for some of the town's officials.

"Gray," she said softly, hugging Happy tighter. "I don't think there's any "could be" about it. Serious trouble's already arrived."

* * *

Lucy propped her chin on her hand, staring out the window of the inn room with a blank look on her face as she watched Natsu mumble apologies and tear down the trees he'd destroyed, Happy catching small branches before they could land on anyone. Gray was keeping an eye on both of them alongside the inn's owner, making sure they - Natsu specifically - didn't destroy anything else. She herself was simply trying to doze while it was light out in hopes that it might help chase away her dark thoughts.

Erza had left during the night, just as Gray had predicted before they'd gone to bed...or attempted to, in Lucy's case. Lucy hadn't had the easiest of nights. Again.

She hadn't had the energy to force a smile to her face when Happy had questioned her earlier that morning, and she couldn't hide the black smudges beneath her eyes. It hadn't help that Natsu had been a raging blaze of fire half the night, in a rage over Lisanna's death. She couldn't blame him, of course. But she couldn't grieve alongside him or Happy, either. So many people had died, were dying, and would soon die that she couldn't even feel the sorrow that should have been eating at her. Gray must have been feeling the same, because while he'd looked saddened, he hadn't said anything at all about the matter.

 _Crash!_

Down went the last of the many trees Natsu had burnt to a crisp. A dark look remained in his eyes as he glared at it, not seeming to hear whatever Gray was saying to the glowering owner of the inn. Happy floated around the fire mage's head, looking worried.

Lucy sighed, closing her eyes and letting her head rest against the glass, only for it to suddenly swing open and scare the living daylights out of her. She jerked up before she could smack her head on the hard wooden windowsill, grimacing. Oops.

Natsu's gaze darted up only momentarily at the sound of the window slamming open, then returned to the ground, and Happy gave a small sigh before floating up to the window that had opened. "Natsu's not doing so well, Lucy," he reported.

"He'll feel better some day," she said softly. "This is the second time he - and Mira, too - have lost Lisanna, Happy. You, too. I see those little tears, cat." She smiled gently. She usually hated speaking with the Exceed - he pissed her off beyond belief more often than not - but she knew he was upset, even if he wasn't showing it quite as much as Natsu.

Happy sniffed, then blinked, peering at her. "You don't look good either...are you okay, Lucy?"

"No," she admitted. She doubted lying would do her any good at this point. "I haven't been sleeping very well for a while, but there's been so much going on...I didn't want to bother anyone else."

"You should tell someone when you're sick, Lucy," Happy said with a surprising seriousness in his voice. "Natsu's not gonna be happy. Gray won't be, either."

Lucy shrugged. "Erza's and the others' conditions are more important than me not being able to sleep. Not that big a deal. I'll deal with it later." She pulled back, popping her back with a yawn. "Okay. Time to head outside since they're done...we're leaving now. We'll have to see if Wendy will be able to deal with Natsu's motion sickness when we get back...ready, Happy?"

"Aye, sir!" the cat cheered, though it lacked its usual enthusiasm.

And with that, the two headed out of their room to rejoin their nakama, neither noticing the black marks racing up and down a giggling toddler's arm in the inn's diner as they stepped outside.

* * *

 _And things are beginning to get even more serious...what are these black marks? o.O Come back Friday to learn more... Anyhow. Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I love each and every one of them, along with their owners, of course. :)_


	8. Chapter 7

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

They didn't make a big show of entering the guildhall like they usually did, and nobody greeted them when they walked in. Everyone was too depressed about what had happened to say anything to each other. Lucy was practically swaying on her feet, wanting to go home and sleep, but had been determined to see how their friends were doing before going home. Gray had agreed with her on that, but Natsu simply staggered over to a seat and dropped into it with a dark look on his face.

Levy, Gajeel, and Lily had returned if the chilling feeling that came from Gajeel's usual corner was anything to go by. And with Jet and Droy gone, Lucy was sure that Levy would be with him, seeking silent comfort in the iron dragon slayer's presence.

Lucy shot a final glance at Natsu's face, then headed over to Cana, who was simply propping her chin on her barrel of alcohol. The flush on the brunette's cheeks told them she'd been drinking quite a bit, even for her, and Lucy gave her a sympathetic look. Poor Cana. She and everyone else were dealing with the grief and problems in their own ways. "Hey, Cana," she said quietly.

"Welcome back," Cana murmured, not looking very enthusiastic at all. "Hear you guys got into some trouble, too."

"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "It wasn't fun…and I wish we'd been here to help with what happened."

"Nobody knew it was going to happen," Cana said softly. "She was fine one moment, like her brother the next, Lucy. She was sane when Bisca went in. Just seconds later, while Bisca was setting her food down, she went crazy. It was...we heard the gunshot from down here. It was horrible." Her voice trembled now, misery written across her face.

Lucy slid into a seat beside her, waving Gray onward. The ice-make mage rolled his eyes, then sighed in exasperation when Juvia appeared beside him, the only one relatively happy at the moment. And that was only because she was relieved to see that Gray was okay. "How's Mira doing mentally?"

"Not well. She's depressed." Cana gave a bitter laugh. "Can't say I blame her for that. Her sister's dead."

Lucy pressed her lips together. "Elfman, too...is everyone who has been isolated together at least? So they can keep an eye on each other?"

"Yep." Cana finally lifted her barrel, chugging the alcohol from it before answering further. "They're all upstairs in the infirmary. Master said they could use it since nobody is injured and technically, they are. Erza arrived last night, apparently, and went up to join them." She paused. "Is it true? The markings are appearing on normal people in other towns, too?"

Lucy gave a curt nod, then shuddered, whispering, "Our job went wrong and we watched our client's wife tear a child into pieces, Cana. Her own grandchild." She shuddered. "We turned our backs for only minutes and then she was-"

"Great," Cana interrupted, making a face. "Not something I want to hear details about, Lucy. Look," she sighed, shaking her dark hair out of her face. "What we need to do, since the situation isn't contained anymore, is we need to figure out how it starts, how long it takes, and how it spreads. If you guys are right, and it spreads through touch, then...we could be in some serious trouble."

"I know," Lucy said softly. Her hand reached back to touch her back with a grimace. "I hope...I hope I didn't start it. The black reminds me of the mark on my back...Cana, what if it's my fault this is all happening? What if it's my fault that Elfman and Lisanna and the others are dead?" Her voice shook now, her eyes bright with a suspicious sheen. "What if-"

Cana cut her off. "If we start asking "What if?", it's not going to get us anywhere, Lucy. Don't. Please. It's not your fault, none of this is. Okay? All we need to do now is concern ourselves with how to stop it."

"I agree." Both women jumped when none other than the master of Fairy Tail himself appeared. Makarov studied them with a grim look, and Lucy flushed under the sharpness of his gaze when it was directed at her, as if scolding her for thinking in such a way. "It's not your fault, Lucy, and we _do_ need to figure out how to stop it."

"The only way to stop it so far has been to kill people, Master," Lucy said softly, biting her lip. She propped her chin on her palm, her gaze dark. "And I don't think anyone here wants to continue doing that, but it's looking like we won't have a choice...so many people have been affected by it and probably don't even know they have it, that there's no way we can just...make sure everybody's okay. And when I mean everybody, I mean every single person in Fiore. So what do we _do_?"

"We make sure those that are currently alright stay okay," Makarov answered firmly, giving Lucy a kind and reassuring smile. "And not just physically either...take that brat over there home, would you? He needs some sleep. I'm assuming he didn't sleep well after yesterday."

Lucy glanced at the emotionless looking Natsu. "Lisanna meant a lot to him," she said quietly, "Her death hit him harder than the others...reality set in. I mean, yeah, people have died, but this is the first death to really hit him. You know?"

"Mira's heartbroken," Cana inputted in a soft tone, her eyes gentle at the thought of the usually smiley woman. "She's lost both Elfman and Lisanna in such a short amount of time...when I checked in with Erza this morning, she said Mira was practically lifeless. Maybe Natsu should talk with her...it might help him feel better."

"Nobody," Makarov said sharply with a sudden irritated look. "And I mean nobody, Cana, is to go upstairs, is that clear? I am putting you in charge of that while I look into something important that's happened."

"What's happened?" Lucy asked, sitting back in her chair.

"Bob has yet to return a message I sent him this morning," Makarov answered with a sigh. "It has me concerned. I intended to head towards their headquarters and make sure everything is alright, but…" He glanced back towards the stairs that led to the second floor. "I'm not so sure that it's a good idea just yet."

"We'll do it."

Lucy jumped, glancing up at Gray, who'd come to stand behind her. Juvia was close behind him, looking serious rather than cooing over the man she practically worshipped. Gray kept his gaze locked on Makarov. "We'll take Juvia and Natsu with us. Happy can stay with Charle and Wendy this time. I want him here so that he can come and let one of us know the second something happens, because I doubt there will be any way of communicating with each other for a while."

Makarov looked uncertain. "I'm not sure this is a good idea…"

"Juvia knows you want to remain and make sure nobody else is hurt," Juvia interrupted, eyes staring confidently at him. "Stay, Master. We will take Natsu to check on Blue Pegasus' master."

"Juvia is right," Lucy agreed, flashing a smile. "Since you'll be keeping an eye on everything here and since we'll already be looking into one guild, we'll check on the other guilds around this area, too." The blonde hugged her arms, exchanging a look with Cana, who nodded, as if understanding the Celestial mage's pleading look. Lucy would be the first to know if something happened to one of their nakama.

"Natsu!" Gray called, reaching around for something to throw at the dragon slayer to capture his attention since it was doubtful he'd hear them with his head clogged full of sorrowful thoughts. His hand scooped up a spoon Cana hadn't touched and he aimed carefully before hurling it at the back of Natsu's pink-haired head.

He didn't respond like he normally would have, instead just turned to look at the ice-make mage. "What," he demanded irritably upon making his way over after Makarov beckoned him closer. He automatically fell into position beside where Lucy was sitting, leaning against the back of her chair. "I don't feel like doing anything right now, Gray."

"Precisely why you're doing something now," Lucy answered, reaching back to pull on his scarf. He huffed and swatted her hand away. "Master wants us to check on Blue Pegasus and maybe a few other guilds, to see how they're holding up in all of this mess. Do you want to join us?" Not that he'd get a choice. He was joining them whether or not he wanted to, but it would make her feel better to know he'd joined them of his own free will.

"Fine," he huffed impatiently. "But leave me alone after we get back from whatever it is we end up doing."

"Thank you, Natsu," she said sweetly, patting a hand before standing, popping her neck. "Let's head out in the morning though. Some of us need some rest, you know." Not that she'd get any sleep, but she'd like to at least _try_.

"Juvia agrees," Juvia murmured, nodding at Lucy to show what she meant. "Rest is good. Perhaps more than a single night would be better though? They've only just returned from their latest work, Master."

Lucy blinked at the water mage. Huh. Juvia being considerate for more than just Gray? Not weird at all… And while Makarov looked reluctant to do so, he shook his head. "I understand you may be tired, but there is much at risk here. We must hurry and make sure that the others are alright before we may rest."

"The old guy is right," Gray agreed, "We need to hurry, but tonight should be okay, right?"

"Tonight is fine," Makarov agreed. "Return first thing in the morning though, and then head out. I'm worried about Bob." And with that, the small older man headed off to speak with some of the other members of the guild.

Lucy slipped out of the chair she'd been sitting in, glancing at Cana. "We'll keep you updated, Cana," she promised as the card mage pouted, unhappy over being left out. She leaned against the table, tapping a finger on it in a thoughtful way. "Do you think Happy would mind staying here?" she asked Natsu, who was still brooding. "That way if something happens here, he can come and tell us right away rather than us needing to worry about checking in." His onyx eyes darted to hers for a moment, and she gave him an apologetic look. She knew he was upset. But this was important.

"I'll talk with him," Natsu sighed, moving away to go and do just that. Lucy watched him carefully before turning her attention back on Gray and Juvia.

"Juvia feels bad for Natsu," Juvia said quietly. She glanced after him with a saddened look on her face. "But Juvia thinks he will be okay."

"Of course he will," Lucy agreed.

Gray rubbed the back of his head, his dark eyes serious. "It's twice he's lost Lisanna, and this time it's for good, even if we thought it was the last time, too. I think dragging him out will help though...just...don't leave him by himself for too long, or we'll have to pay for damages again."

"Got it." Lucy gave a small little wave. "I'm heading home, see you guys tomorrow. Tell Natsu to stop by and let me know if Happy's going or not, would you?"

"Juvia will tell him." Juvia beamed happily at Lucy, and the Celestial mage smiled in return, happy she wasn't in one of her moods at the moment.

And with that, Lucy left the guildhall.

* * *

Lucy's thoughts were serious as she made her way out of the bathroom, toweling her hair dry as she did so. She wanted to pack stuff this time. Well, she usually packed clothes when traveling for their work, but this time, she wanted to pack more. _Just in case_ , she told herself, but something told her this wasn't a "just in case" situation. Something told her that when they came back from this job, they wouldn't be returning to what they'd left behind.

So, Lucy packed up a suitcase with only one spare set of clothes, filling it with other possessions instead, including her writing, her pictures of herself, family, and friends, and a few books that had once belonged to her mother. Loke's key warmed at her hip, but she ignored it. After what had happened with Virgo, there was no way she'd be opening anymore gates.

The window suddenly slammed open just as she finished, and the celestial mage jumped, whirling around to see Natsu hauling himself inside with an emotionless look upon his face...or what appeared to be one. Gaze softening, Lucy waited until he'd hopped inside, closing the window behind him - she knew what that meant. He'd be calling her house home for the night. Then she stepped forward and gently hugged him, hiding her face in his chest, and she was relieved when he returned the hug tightly.

"Thanks," he muttered softly into her hair, and Lucy pulled back to smile in response, though it was saddened. "Happy's isn't gonna go with us. He said he'd stay and do what you said."

"I'm glad." Lucy gave a relieved sigh. "Now we'll know right away if something happens." She kicked her packed suitcase to its place beside her bed, grunting with the effort of it and ignoring the strange look the fire mage threw her. She threw herself face down onto the bed. "Ugh. This is all exhausting."

His brow furrowed. "You still aren't sleeping?" he demanded. She shook her head, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. "Why not? It's not good for ya, Luce."

"Can't," she said simply. She said nothing more on risk of giving him too big of an ego-boost, instead just shutting her eyes. "Just...too many nightmares to let me sleep, you know?"

"No," Natsu muttered bluntly. She snorted. Idiot. She simply swatted lazily at him, and then jumped when a hand landed on her head, ruffling her blonde hair. "Get some sleep already. Not going anywhere, might as well make sure you sleep."

She paused to grin up at him before pushing herself away from the bed. "I will. But I need to make some dinner first. Hungry? I've got matches."

For the first time in a while, a true grin spread across Natsu's face. "Sure," he said eagerly, and Lucy chuckled at his excitement over food, heading into the kitchen of her home to make something fast and easy.

"Don't burn my house down, please," she pleaded as she set a plate on the table in front of him a few minutes later. "I don't need to have to pay that money to the landlady because _someone_ couldn't be careful."

Natsu rolled his eyes, taking the matches she slapped into his hand. "I'm not going to burn the place down, Lucy. I know what I'm doing."

"Just...please be careful," she pleaded. She sat down at the table across from him, her dark eyes thoughtful as she took a bite of the simple pasta she'd made, enjoying it. "So," she said, turning her eyes on him. He glanced up from devouring all of his dinner. "Are you going to be grumpy again tomorrow?" She spoke lightly, careful not to upset him too much. She'd rather him not choose to leave because she'd brought up a bad conversation.

Natsu paused, then sat back, looking unhappy as he sat his fork down. Lucy decided then and there she'd made a bad decision in bringing this up. "Lisanna's gone," he muttered. "So is Elfman, and a whole bunch of others...I'm worried that I'll lose my family again."

The celestial mage gave him a moment before saying just as quietly, "Natsu. I promise. You won't lose everyone. We're trying our hardest to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Doesn't mean it won't," he said with a sharp tone.

She shrugged. "No, but we're trying our hardest, so don't snap at me for telling you that." Lucy glared at him before huffing and angrily shoving a noodle into her mouth. "Yeah, you've lost a few people," she snapped, angry now. "But you still have me, you still have Gray - even if you don't want to admit it. You still have Happy and Erza and even Juvia. Don't think we don't know what you feel like. We're all orphans, remember? I'm scared for everyone, too. All we can do is try as hard as we can to make sure nobody else dies."

Natsu blinked, messing with the matches in his hand, lighting one aflame and tossing it into his mouth before answering. "Just...don't touch anyone who has it."

"I won't," she said with exasperation on her face. "As long as _you_ don't go around getting whatever this is either, Natsu." She loved everyone in Fairy Tail. They were her nakama, after all. But Natsu and - even if he was annoying - Happy both held special places in her heart. They had, after all, been the two to bring her to the family she now called her home.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm the one who's making sure you don't. Like I'd go and- Luce? You okay?" Teasing was suddenly replaced by concern when she choked on her food, her expression twisting into one of pain. When she shook her head, doubling over with a groan, clutching at her chest, he practically vaulted over the table to crouch beside her, peering into her face anxiously. "Lucy!?"

"One...sec…" she wheezed, resting her head on the table. Her body tensed when pain lanced through her mind, and one hand reached out to loosely grab his scarf, tightly holding onto it for comfort. Fire raced through her as she struggled to breathe, black threading through her vision until she could no longer see anything, and she barely heard Natsu when he demanded that she look at him, that she respond in any way when he realized her heart was no longer thudding in her chest.

 _"Lucy! Hey! Stay with me!"_

She wanted to scream that she was trying but no longer had any energy to do so. She couldn't thrash around like she wanted to. She couldn't move a single finger, even after the pain finally left, leaving her with smaller aftershocks that rocked her to the core.

"Lucy!"

"I-I'm okay," she lied after a few minutes of catching her breath. She withdrew her hand from his scarf, tucking it safely into her lap as she carefully sat up, resting her head back. He stood beside her, looking frantic.

"You're not okay," he said angrily. Natsu's dark eyes searched hers desperately. "Your heart stopped. _Again!_ That's not okay, Luce!"

"Hasn't stopped for good yet," she rasped, smiling faintly before closing her eyes. She didn't feel good at all now, and- her eyes snapped open, a yelp escaping her when the ground and chair vanished from beneath her. "What are you doing?!" she screeched, the sound strange. She glared at the fire mage as he picked her up, hands surprisingly gentle.

Natsu returned the glare she gave him. "Getting you to your bed 'cause you need to sleep! Not sleeping isn't helping you out with whatever that is. You need to sleep, Luce."

The irritated celestial mage smacked desperately at him, but he only proceeded to drop her onto the bed with a huff when she managed to kick him sharply in the stomach. "Jerk," she gritted out.

"Sleep," he ordered, turning to leave...only for her hand to dart out and capture his wrist. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a curious look, and she flushed, glaring at him.

"If you're going to dump me here, you're gonna have to deal with going to sleep at eight in the evening, too," she snapped.

Natsu smirked, though his eyes held that anxious look in them still. "Fine."

Lucy's jaw dropped when he simply climbed into the bed with her, though she didn't complain...and mean it. She complained of course, but she didn't honestly try to kick him out. "At least shut the light off," she muttered, curling up into a ball and closing her eyes with a sigh. "And eat your damn food. I worked hard on that."

"Fine," he repeated. He ruffled her hair. "In the morning. Go to sleep, weirdo."

She did so without another complaint.

* * *

 _Wham!_

Lucy screamed in surprise as she fell out of the bed, completely awake. She rubbed her messy head with a scowl appearing on her face when a grinning Natsu appeared, standing over her with a smug glint in his eyes as if he was proud of kicking her out of the bed. "The hell was that for?" she spat grumpily.

"Time to wake up, we've got places to go," he answered. He nudged her with his bare foot. "Hurry up. Gray said our train leaves at noon."

"I'm going, I'm going." Lucy kicked at his feet before climbing to her feet, making a face in his direction. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath. Relieved things were normal again after the night before, she hurried to kick Natsu out, ordering him to wait at the front door before getting dressed and grabbing everything she needed.

She was heading outside in record timing only ten minutes later, just as a nearby giant clock struck ten. "Okay," she said cheerfully, "I'm ready." Her gaze darkened, however, when she remembered why they were going where they were going. Nothing had changed. People were still dying and would continue to do so. "Come on, Natsu, let's go."

The duo started down the street, Lucy not hesitating to hop up onto the stones beside the water. The fishermen weren't around, she was sad to see, but Natsu would be enough to remind her to be careful. She took in the familiar look of the area, enjoying Magnolia's peaceful air as they walked in companionable silence. So long as she didn't have another moment of pain and Natsu didn't fall back into a dark mood, it would hopefully stay like this.

Until they left, of course. Then things would get wild again. But it didn't mean she couldn't try and enjoy anything she could until then.

They made it to the guild hall in record timing, arriving there just as Juvia showed up, looking surprisingly serious despite the fact that she was about to go on a job with her beloved Gray. She barely spared them a glance as she swept into the building ahead of them, her lips pursed, and Lucy and Natsu exchanged worried looks before hurrying inside after her.

Just as it had been the day before, it was quiet. Nothing had happened it turned out, but it was still easy to feel the guilt and grief that filled their guildmates. "We're just waiting on Gray," Juvia reported when they went to join her at a table.

"Bastard," Natsu muttered, dropping into a chair across from the water mage. Lucy hesitantly seated herself beside Juvia, not certain if Juvia was in a friendly mood or experiencing her constant wariness of her "love rival". "He's the one who volunteered us for this."

"He didn't volunteer us, Natsu, we all wanted to go and you need to not mope around," Lucy scolded. She rolled her dark eyes, leaning forward on the chair as she shot him a glare before turning to Juvia. "How was your night, Juvia?"

"Juvia was nervous," Juvia admitted, messing with a lock of blue hair. Her eyes looked troubled. "Juvia loves Fairy Tail and is worried."

"We all are," Lucy sighed. "We'll figure it out. We always do." Her words didn't sound nearly as confident as she'd tried to make them, but they seemed to do the trick as Juvia gave her a slight smile.

"What's taking Gray so long?" Natsu asked crossly nearly twenty minutes later, when the ice-make mage had yet to arrive. He looked fairly annoyed, and quite frankly, it was making Lucy irritable. She understood his usual impatience, but the edge in his voice upset her. He was serious, unlike his usual self, who would have been whining about being bored.

 _Finally_ , the guild hall's doors swung open and Gray ducked in, fully dressed for once. He grimaced apologetically as he made his way over. "Sorry, something came up. Let's get a move on, or we'll miss the train."

"Shouldn't have taken forever then," the grouchy dragon slayer snapped, glaring at him. Gray only rolled his eyes and paused to wait for Juvia, who darted off to alert Makarov of their heading out. When she returned, she smiled hesitantly at Gray. She took on a startled look when he gave her a grim one in response.

"Let's go," Lucy said confidently, grabbing Natsu's scarf and dragging him forward, eager to get a move on before he decided to start a brawl with the ice-make mage. Natsu yelped when she gave a rather harsh jerk and a warning look and scowled at her. She only gave him a warning look before releasing him. "No annoying comments," she warned, "Or I'll make sure you suffer through the train ride alone, you hear me?"

"Yeah," he muttered.

Juvia giggled, looking amused by their little conversation. Gray only sighed and shook his head in exasperation at the Fire mage.

Only Natsu.

Lucy was incredibly thankful that the station wasn't too far away from where the guildhall was located. It only took them a ten minute walk to get there, and Lucy stopped to check when the next train would be leaving just to make sure upon their arrival, letting the other three go off to buy their tickets after a sharp warning towards Natsu about not destroying anything.

She blinked, frowning as she scanned over the words again. "...what?" she muttered.

Biting her lip nervously now, Lucy turned and scanned the people around her, finally catching a person who worked at the station by their sleeve. "Um, sir?" she asked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything," he answered, smiling charmingly. Lucy grimaced. Trust people to leer at her when she was trying to ask serious and important questions. Ignoring the look he was giving her, she cleared her throat and spoke quickly and quietly to him, trying not to attract too much attention from a certain dragon slayer, who was beginning to wander back. She didn't want him to figure out what was wrong before she had all the details and get into another temper like at the last inn they'd stayed at, or they'd have to pay for damages.

Again.

When the man answered, any flirtatious look disappeared from his face, instead being replaced by grim seriousness and surprise. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said hesitantly. "I didn't know Fairy Tail wasn't aware…" He waved at the emblem upon the back of her hand to show her how he'd known that she was a member. "But that particular town doesn't exist anymore...everyone's dead. Blue Pegasus, too, all of its members went crazy and killed each other from what I heard."

Lucy's face went white. She quickly thanked him and darted back for her friends, pausing to grab Natsu's arm and drag her over to a confused Gray and Juvia. "We have a problem," she rasped, her gaze glittering anxiously.

"I'm aware," Gray replied, pressing his lips into a hard line. "We're still going, though. We'll just have to get there ourselves...the train doesn't run past there anymore."

Juvia spoke up. "I'll go get a rental vehicle," she offered, already stepping away.

Lucy nodded her agreement, then grimaced. "Think she'd mind driving it for us?"

"Not if I ask her to," Gray said with a shrug. His gaze was dark with concern. "We need to find out what happened. Because at this rate, it looks like Fairy Tail might end up in the same way as Blue Pegasus. All of us dead."

Lucy bit her lip, hugging herself, and Natsu swore under his breath.

She wasn't exactly eager to go where it was undoubtedly as dangerous as the dragon that had caused a loss of seven years in their lives (not that it showed). But she wasn't blind. Luckily, it appeared Juvia and Natsu were.

She could see the hint of black, just barely edging along Gray's wrist.

* * *

 _And it looks like trouble is arising...not that it hasn't already. XD Hope you enjoyed! Thank you so,_ so _much for the reviews, favorites, and follows!_


	9. Chapter 8

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

"Lucy?"

Juvia's voice startled the celestial mage out of the slight trance she'd been in as she stared out the window of their rapidly moving vehicle as it raced through the countryside, heading for where Blue Pegasus had once been. She glanced over at the water mage, who was perched comfortably on a seat across from them. Lucy had to fight back a smirk. The vehicle was similar to the one Erza had driven when she'd first met the requip mage. Gray, of course, was driving (Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that it was to try and see if it would slow the marks from spreading too quickly) and Natsu was passed out on the seat beside her, looking more than just a little sick.

"Yes?" Lucy questioned, shaking her head to clear it.

"Are you alright?" Juvia looked truly concerned, and Lucy gave the other woman a reassuring smile. Not really, but she didn't need any stress added on to her by the way her mouth was set in an unhappy pout. "Juvia noticed you look upset…"

"I'm fine," Lucy promised. "I'm just worried about this idiot over here and what everyone else is concerned about." She swept her blonde hair out of her face, shaking her head. "Don't worry about me, Juvia...damn," she added under her breath when she noticed the blue-haired woman's eyes filling with tears. "What's wrong?"

Juvia sniffled. "Juvia is worried about Gray." Lucy tensed for a minute, but she didn't seem to notice. "He-he's being too nice to Juvia."

Lucy had to fight the urge to roll her eyes - not at the teary-eyed woman, of course, but at the fact that only Fairy Tail's members would be worried because of such a thing. Especially Juvia, who normally would have been ecstatic. "I'm sure Gray's okay," she reassured, trying to make her words convincing. "He's just like the rest of us."

"I guess so," Juvia mumbled uncertainly, then glanced at Natsu. "Juvia believes Natsu is scared." Lucy arched an eyebrow. Pissed off? Definitely. Concerned for his nakama? of course. But _scared_? She understood he was worried about solitude at times like this, but not once had she ever seen him truly _scared_. Juvia gave a tentative smile at the look on the celestial mage's face. "Natsu is scared for Juvia's love rival."

Lucy groaned. "For the final time, Juvia, I'm not interested in Gray. At all. But why?" Curiosity spiked and she spared a glance at the unconscious dragon slayer.

Juvia wore a smug look now, as if proud of herself for knowing the information she was giving Lucy. "Natsu doesn't want to lose anyone like he lost Igneel. Juvia thinks you mean as much to him _as_ Igneel."

Her jaw dropped at Juvia's sly smirk. Out of all the times to say something like this, it had to be when the guy was unconscious next to her? Of course, she doubted he was hearing any of it, but still! And since when had Juvia decided to give out things like that…? Lucy took notice of the gleam in the the water mage's eye. Ah. So she thought she was separating Lucy further from _her_ Gray. Still…

Cheeks aflame, Lucy turned her face towards the window of the vehicle again. "Shush," she scolded, her voice coming out near a squeak. Juvia only giggled, then straightened in surprise when Lucy's fingers suddenly tightened enough in her lap to nearly tear the skirt she'd chosen to wear.

"Lucy?" she questioned, then jumped when Natsu's eyes snapped open, gaze already furious. All symptoms of his motion sickness gone, he sat up, leaning closer to the pale celestial mage, jaw clenched. "Natsu? What's happening to Lucy?"

Swearing under his breath, Natsu slammed a fist against the wall behind Juvia's head. She gasped in surprise, jerking away, and he felt a twist in his stomach when the vehicle screeched to a sudden halt. Ignoring the motion sickness, Natsu went back to focusing on Lucy, who looked to be in more pain than Juvia had ever remembered seeing her in.

Gray threw a door open with a look of annoyance that vanished when he saw Lucy. "What's going on?" he demanded, carefully avoiding getting closer to them than he had to. Despite the burning in her chest, Lucy noticed and shook her head. This wouldn't end well. "Hey! Natsu!"

Lucy gave a tight smile, gasping for breath as the pain finally went away. "I'm okay," she said, just as she said every time it ended. "See?" she added to Natsu. "Don't think it stopped this time."

"It didn't," he admitted, sitting back with a worried look. He yelped when Juvia kicked at him, looking worried.

"Juvia and Gray want to know what's going on," she demanded sharply, glaring at the pink-haired man. "Is Juvia's love rival okay?"

"I'm fine," Lucy protested, waving them off with a tired look. She leaned back, resting her head against the back of her seat. "Just...had a moment. It happens sometimes."

"Like hell," Gray muttered. "Never seen that happen before in my life, Lucy. Natsu," he repeated. "What's going on?"

He glanced at her, then, ignoring her pleading eyes, he said bluntly, "She's been having these attack things. Her heart stops most of the time, and stuff like that. This one wasn't as bad as the last few."

"And I'm okay now," Lucy added, looking at him angrily. The jerk had promised! Of course, she hadn't expected to have one of her little "moments" in front of Juvia and Gray… "Look, it's no big deal- ouch! Damn it, Natsu, what the hell was that for?" she spat, furiously kicking him as hard as she could in the shin when he smacked the back of her head. It wasn't a hard swat, nowhere near as hard as one that would have usually hurt her, but it proved the point he was trying to make. It affected her way more than she let on.

"No wonder you haven't been leaving her alone," the ice-make mage mused, making Juvia smile slightly despite the situation. "Anything else we need to know about before we walk into danger?"

"Yeah," Lucy said sarcastically, angry. She kicked him again, and Natsu winced, glaring back at her. "I can't use my keys. They disintegrate. Virgo's gone. So if it happens in the middle of a fight, I'm screwed."

"Are you _serious_?" Gray groaned, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Lucy, you don't just hide these things!"

"Juvia agrees," Juvia piped up, looking upset. "Juvia thinks Lucy should have told us sooner."

Lucy pouted, crossing her arms. "There's so much going on already, I didn't want to add to everyone's worry. Besides. It's not like I'm dead yet. I'm still alive and kicking. I'm sure you'll know if it gets to the point where I can't do anything."

Natsu huffed, crossing his arms with a small pout on his face, giving him an almost child-like appearance. Lucy gave him the evil eye and Gray just gave an unamused sigh. "We're nearly there...we'll be there just after noon, I think," he told them. "If something like this happens again, do what you did, Natsu, and I'll stop."

The irritable Salamander gave a curt nod.

Gray exchanged a wary look with Lucy, then closed the door and returned to the driver's seat. Juvia gave a wail, scaring Lucy enough to make the exhausted celestial mage jump. "See? Gray doesn't want to touch Juvia!"

Lucy groaned, closing her eyes and resting her head against the window's glass. "I'm sure Gray has his reasons, Juvia - Natsu, I swear on my position as a Fairy Tail mage, if you _dare_ get sick this way, you'll never see my "amazingly comfortable bed" ever again, is that clear?"

Natsu's only answer was a groan when the vehicle lurched forward, leaving him to slump down in his seat again.

* * *

"We're here." Gray's muffled voice had Natsu stumbling out of the vehicle instantly, and Lucy and Juvia gave him some distance before Juvia hopped out and offered the celestial mage some help. Lucy gratefully accepted it, letting the water mage help her out. She nearly stumbled and tripped, but managed to catch her balance, leaning momentarily on Juvia before standing upright on her own. Juvia's look of concern didn't go unnoticed. "I'm okay, Juvia," she mumbled.

"It's not nice to lie, Lucy," Juvia chided, though it was more teasing than anything. Lucy blinked, slightly confused by Juvia's sudden change of attitude towards the "love rival". But she appreciated the sudden change and paused to nudge Natsu back into awareness when the green tinge left his face.

Then the four mages took in the area around them.

It looked as if it had been abandoned for ages. Where proud buildings had once stood, there was now only destruction. The walls had crumbled, and there was no longer any signs of human life. Instinctively, Lucy stepped closer to Natsu for comfort, giving a small shudder. The dragon slayer didn't seem to notice, instead wrinkling his nose. When she shot him a questioning look, he answered the unsaid question. "It reeks of that strange stuff and death."

"Not good," Gray grunted. The ice-make mage started forward, and the rest of them followed. Juvia went to wrap her arms around Gray's arm in a happy manner, but then huffed unhappily when he quickly dodged her attempt, shooting her a look that had Juvia looking downcast.

Natsu's breath near her ear made Lucy jump as he mumbled, "Gray smells weird, too. Smelled it earlier when we stopped."

Lucy hesitated. Should she tell him what she'd seen? It would probably be safer...although she wouldn't tell Juvia just yet. "Natsu." Catching on to the secretive hiss, he leaned closer so she could whisper easier to him. "Gray has those marks...don't," she snapped when his onyx eyes narrowed and he pulled back, flames flickering along his arm. "He's still normal, he's aware of it. He's trying to not touch any of us. I think he wants to finish up with this job, then go and join the others in the infirmary."

He contemplated this for a few moments, then growled, "Stay away from him. Juvia's probably already touched him and even if she hasn't yet, she definitely will before we get back, no matter how hard Gray tries."

Lucy never would have thought she'd be wanting Natsu to go back to the way he was months ago, when they'd first met and throughout all of their troublesome yet amazing adventures. She never would have thought she'd want him to go back to being immature and impatient, hotheaded and quick to act with a constant grin ready to be shown.

The Natsu before her was slightly frightening. He was completely serious, without a trace of a smile in existence. Of course, she understood why. Natsu cared deeply for all of their nakama, and Lisanna had been the final straw. He was pissed and ready to get rid of whatever was threatening to hurt his friends.

Shaking off the slight shudder that had run through her, Lucy turned her attention back on the situation at hand. "I'm not going to avoid him," she hissed. "I won't touch him, but I'm not just gonna keep six feet away at all times like you seem to think I will," she warned, then hurried after their friends, her brown eyes sharp as she scanned the area around them. Natsu sighed heavily and trailed after the other three.

"So where was Blue Pegasus' guild hall?" she asked as Gray paused to look around.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Somewhere around here, I think. I know it was this town...but...it's impossible to figure out where anything is now. "

Lucy's hand dropped to wrap around the keyring hung at her hip for comfort. She didn't dare summon any of them to help move rubble when Gray set to work on shoving at a piece in their way. It was too big to climb over, and none of them wanted to climb up and come face to face with someone that might decide they'd be fun to kill. As if sensing her need for comfort, most of the keys warmed, particularly one that she was sure belonged to Loke.

They wanted out into the human realm, but she couldn't let them.

Juvia joined in and with combined efforts, she, Gray, and Natsu - who was _very_ careful to not touch the ice-make mage - managed to shuffle the piece of crumbled building out of the way enough that they could squeeze through. Natsu went first, and then Juvia and Gray, and finally, Lucy squeezed herself through to join them. They were met by more destruction.

"Juvia doesn't think," Juvia said softly, looking depressed at what she was saying, "That there are any survivors."

"Neither do I," Lucy agreed. She crossed her arms as she kicked at a pebble, watching it skitter away into an alley.

She realized a split moment later that it had been a bad idea to kick that pebble.

Something suddenly threw itself out of the dark alleyway, shrieking in rage and Lucy gave a small scream, reeling backwards. Gray threw up a wall of ice, capturing it just before it managed to reach her, swearing wildly when he recognized the marks swirling up what had once been a person's arm.

Lucy dove for safety between Juvia and Natsu, who both fell into a battle-ready position when others crept from different places all around them, all covered from head to toe in the marks.

"...shit," Gray gritted out, cranking his head around to look over his shoulder. "That's a hell of a lot of them."

Flames exploded into existence along Natsu's fists and arms. His dark eyes darted this way and that, trying to keep track of all of the creatures around them, taking the chance to take in their mutated appearance.

It was easy to see that they'd once been human. More than easy. They still looked semi-human in a way, with the shapes of their bodies humanoid. But they slid along on all four limbs, looking cat-like in their movements. There eyes had bled a mixture of black and blood red, blood smearing their grayish skin in random patches from kills, and when they bared their teeth in a vicious grin, they revealed dead gray tongues and sharpened teeth.

"What the hell?" Lucy breathed, her hand grasping the hilt of her whip. She readied it. She couldn't use her celestial Spirits to fight, but she could still attempt to help.

Juvia spoke in a low tone. "Juvia will protect my love rival. I believe it is best if you focus on getting rid of them."

Natsu made a sound of agreement, though it was an unhappy one. Gray gave a grim smile, then launched the first attack on a group that were gathering off to the right, sending an Ice-Make: Lance that speared through most of the limp bodies.

Later, Lucy would claim she hadn't ever seen such a gory fight. Even against Future Rogue and in the Exceeds' original home, she'd never seen so much blood flying as she did in that battle.

One moment, there was silence, and then there was a high-pitched wailing screech that echoed from each one that attacked. Lucy distantly realized that almost every citizen must have changed to have created such an army of them. Her whip wrapped around the throat of a small one that threw itself towards her in a screaming fury, and she snapped it, resulting in a sickening crack from the body.

A child, changed by something that was no fault of his own.

Flames raged in every direction, occasionally combining with ice or melting it on accident. Not that it mattered; Natsu's fire turned anything that dared to try and touch him into ash. Lucy couldn't help the sharp panicked gasps she gave when one got close and nearly nicked him with a claw that had grown from its fingertips.

"Lucy," Juvia said suddenly, a wall of water slamming one into the remnants of a building. It came screaming out of the wreckage, heading for her again, and Juvia let her body become water when another clawed through her. Lucy's face paled. Even if she'd become water, she'd been touched. And both Gray and Natsu seemed to have noticed, because Gray groaned and Natsu immediately began heading their way, pausing to deal with another attack, a Fire Dragon's Roar incinerating the creature before it could reach him. "I believe this will be more difficult than we believed."

"You think?" Lucy choked out, wincing when her whip was ripped out of her hands by a particularly large one. She backed away slowly, swallowing thickly, and Juvia hurried to try and slip in between it and the celestial mage, a furious look on her face. Lucy bit back a frustrated sound, scampering after the whip, just narrowly avoiding a creature Gray sent flying. It spat at her as it hit the ground, rising onto its feet.

A searing heat at her hip made her wince as she scooped up her whip. _No,_ she thought firmly. Even if she risked summoning one of her spirits, they would end up like Virgo. Gone to who knows where with no way of Lucy figuring out if they were okay. She would survive this without their help - she had to.

Flames billowed past her, mere feet away, and she winced when the heat seared her. It didn't cause any damage, but she felt it alright. "Watch where you're aiming, you idiot!" Gray shouted, as if seeing what he'd done. But it turned out he'd been even closer to the flames than she had.

Too distracted by Gray, she barely noticed the shadow sneaking along the ground behind her until Natsu called, "Look out!"

She whirled around - just as dead eyes filled her vision. Lucy's face paled and she threw her arms up to block a sharp blow, already expecting piercing pain or nothing at all when it killed her, but was instead met with a wall of something soft exploding into existence between them, shoving her back a few steps. Lucy knew instantly what had happened and moaned, "No."

Aries had forced herself into the human realm beside her, looking surprisingly fierce and angry as she glared at the creature, her form rippling in and out of view. "Sorry," she apologized, her expression softening when she glanced at Lucy. Lucy looked horrified. "You were in danger. Loke was worried."

"Err, thanks," Lucy said, then gave a soft cry of horror when the Celestial Spirit began to fade. "Aries!" she cried, panicked, completely forgetting about the battle around her.

"Virgo's alright," Aries promised hastily, as if realizing she didn't have much time left. "She's with the rest of us. I have to go now. Sorry!"

And just as suddenly as the Celestial Spirit had come into existence, she was gone, the wool she'd left behind fading alongside her. Lucy took the small chance she had to use her whip, speedily killing the creature that Aries had stopped as tears formed in her eyes, golden dust sprinkling the ground as the key turned to golden ash.

Juvia appeared beside her, looking apologetic. "Juvia is sorry," she said mournfully, "If Juvia had moved faster - Lucy!"

The blonde had suddenly gone down, crumpling to her knees, struggling to drag in oxygen. Her eyes were screwed shut, and it only took her mere moments to hit the ground, curling up into a tight ball despite the battle raging around them. Juvia took on a feral look when one of the creatures came after them, defeating it quickly with a relieved look when she realized they had definitely stopped coming as thickly as before.

Acid seemed to have replaced everything inside her, and Lucy felt every inch of her burning as if Natsu had lit her on fire with the hottest of flames. She gave a groan that didn't even begin to voice the agonized screams that threatened to tear out of her, her body convulsing in pain. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe at all. It was as if she'd been shoved into a space where there was no air to breathe. And there were two pains worse than all of the others, right behind her eyes and where her heart was. Somehow, the celestial mage knew that her heart had stopped again and this time...it hadn't even tried to re-start just yet.

"Natsu!" Juvia shrieked. "Gray!"

Everything was blurring together, becoming a sea of black.

 _"Lucy! Stay with me! Luce! C'mon!"_

She was trying. She was honestly trying to stay awake. But she couldn't.

The last thing she was aware of was something warm brushing across her lips.

And then there was nothing but darkness all around her.

* * *

 _What's this? o.O Mutated creatures and now Lucy's even worse? ...really need to stop with the question-like things, it's weird. ANYHOW. :P Thank you so, so much for the follows and favorites! :) Also: I am just now realizing how short this chapter is. I apologize.  
_


	10. Chapter 9

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

A comforting motion smoothed her blonde hair out of her face, gentle and soothing, and she simply lay there as she slowly came back to awareness. Slowly, ignoring the pounding behind her eyes, she let her eyes flutter open to meet familiar onyx eyes, which were filled with sheer terror and concern. While the concern remained, the fear disappeared, replaced by relief. "Lucy."

"Natsu," the celestial mage rasped in response, groaning softly as she raised an arm to cover her eyes and protect them from the painful bright light. Her head was killing her, and every single bit of her ached. "What...what happened?" she whispered, not wanting to speak too loud.

"A lot of things," he admitted. "You've been out for nearly a day."

Lucy grimaced. No wonder the dragon slayer looked so frantic. Twenty four hours of unconsciousness wasn't a good thing. "Well? What kind of things? Where's Gray and Juvia? Are they okay? What about those things? Oh, and - oh." Her gaze filled with grief. "Aries…"

Natsu helped her sit up, nearly hovering over her, and Lucy shot him a look. Just because she'd passed out for as long as she did didn't mean she couldn't handle herself. But she let him remain where he was, sitting right beside her, because she knew that it kept him calm. Or as calm as the situation would let him be, if the jiggling of his bouncing knee was anything to go by. "Uh, Gray and Juvia are fine. They're checking around the area again. The Marked - that's what we've started calling 'em - are mostly dead. They come back every now and then, but not all at once like they did. Doesn't look like anyone's left alive here, Luce, so we're heading back as soon as those two come back- Lucy?!"

She groaned, doubling over, gagging violently as pain clenched her stomach. She threw out a hand to stop him from getting closer as her stomach rolled and she vomited onto the ground, grimacing at the metallic taste in her mouth afterwards. Red had spattered the ground beside her, and by the horrified look in the pink-haired mage's look, she knew immediately what it was. "I'm fine," she insisted, feeling a hell of a lot better than she had moments before. "It looks bad, but I feel better now, I promise. It's probably left over from whatever happened," she reassured.

He didn't look convinced. But recognizing the pleading look and the fact that there wasn't anything they could do, he sat back. His hands trembling, he rasped, "Your heart stopped for a long time, Luce… Gray said you were gone for a few minutes, but I did that thing Erza said would come in handy to try and help you and it worked. But you were...Lucy. You can't do that again. You scared the hell out of me."

Lucy's hand drifted up to brush against her chest, remembering the furiously burning ache and grimacing when she realized it was still there, though nowhere near as intense. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I don't know why or how it happened though, Natsu. So I can't stop it from happening again. It might happen and if I'm passing out…" She shook her head, dragging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them, ignoring when her stomach rolled again. "I'm sorry, Natsu," she sighed. "I'm being useless. Can't even summon my spirits, and to top it all off I get sick at the weirdest and worst moments…"

Natsu rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Shut up, Luce, we're not going that way. Life sucks right now as it is, don't need it getting even worse."

"Jerk," she muttered in response, though she didn't seem surprised at the clipped tone he used. He always hated when she went into that discussion. She puzzled over their life at the moment. What had they done wrong? Why was everything going to hell when they hadn't done anything recently? Was this the karma she'd been waiting for when she'd felt guilty for not speaking to her father before her seven year disappearance?

She didn't care anymore. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

"Juvia touched one of them," Lucy whispered, her tone becoming agonized. "I mean, she was going to end up getting them from Gray without a doubt, but...Natsu, that's so many of our friends that have it now. What are we going to do?"

Natsu opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when Gray's voice called, "Natsu! We're coming back! Don't incinerate us!" A few moments later, they walked into view. Lucy pressed her lips into a hard line when she noticed the black creeping along Gray's hand and fingers, though she said nothing. He was still fully clothed, and Lucy found herself deciding then and there that it was worse than he was letting on. Juvia smiled broadly at her.

"You're awake!" the water mage cried happily, hurrying over to kneel beside her. She didn't touch the celestial mage, however, and Lucy was glad. She didn't feel like watching Natsu burn their friends to a crisp. At least Juvia was aware of what was going on now.

"Feeling any better?" Gray questioned then smirked a little when Lucy flushed at his next words. "Natsu had to do some CPR stuff...he said this was the worst little attack of yours so far."

"I've felt better," she admitted. Lucy smiled reassuringly, and then stopped quickly when Natsu's eyes widened slightly at the sight. Not a good idea when you were spitting up blood. "But I feel better now...sorry for scaring you guys. Natsu said we were leaving as soon as you guys got back?"

"Yeah," Gray answered. His dark eyes searched the landscape around them. "We need to get back and report what we found to Gramps...you able to move now? We need to get going as soon as possible. We learned the hard way those things are stronger at night."

"Great," Lucy sighed. She carefully pushed herself to her feet, staggering and grimacing with a white face when she gagged again, that disgusting metallic taste threatening to fill her mouth again. But she forced herself to ignore it, instead forcing a grin to her face despite reaching out to grab Natsu's arm for balance. "I'm good. Let's go- Natsu," she growled warningly, "If you dare and try to pick me up, I will make sure you can't walk for a week, you hear me?"

Natsu scowled. "Lucy, you're going to fall over- damn it, Luce!" Just as he'd spoken, the blonde's knees gave out and she went down with a grunt, nearly dragging him with her. He managed to catch her in a painful way before he hauled her back up, this time scooping her up with care before giving Gray a pointed look when the Ice-Make mage shot him a smirk. "Shut up, you icy bastard, and let's go. They're coming back. Again."

"Right," Gray muttered, gently nudging Juvia forward. The water mage nodded, explaining to the exhausted and bewildered Lucy as they headed in the direction of the vehicle they'd been using, "Juvia is driving this time. Gray wants to talk with Juvia's love rival and Natsu."

"Err, okay?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at the soft smile on Juvia's face as she kept ahead of them, thought not too far from her beloved Gray. Lucy felt a flash of sympathy for both of them. While Gray was an idiot, he wasn't completely oblivious to the real emotions that existed behind Juvia's excessive stalking. And she was pretty sure the ice-make mage had a little something in his heart for her. Otherwise he wouldn't have spared her in the beginning.

Natsu's grip tightened around her, and Lucy snapped to attention, listening intently. Even without the dragon slayer's sharp hearing, she could hear the soft movements and hisses the Marked gave off. "Be ready," Natsu warned under his breath. Lucy let a hand fall to the whip that had been returned to her hip, prepared.

Luckily, it seemed they'd caught a break. The Marked stayed back, as if realizing they were finally leaving and wanting them gone. Out of habit, Lucy gently grasped the scarf wrapped around Natsu's neck, the strange cloth bunched in her hand, and Natsu ended up having to flick her fingers away when they arrived at the vehicle and the celestial mage was lost in thought. Flushing, she jerked her hand away, shooting him a look that he merely rolled his eyes at.

How she missed the Natsu of just a few weeks ago. He would have teased her despite the "attacks".

Juvia hopped up into the driver's position with ease, and Gray climbed inside the vehicle first. Natsu carefully put Lucy down and she took the chance to lean against it to kick him before joining Gray. Swearing and wincing, Natsu slipped in after her, slamming the door shut after him. Lucy rested her head against the window and gave a sigh of exasperation when she recognized the already ill look on Natsu's face that only grew worse when the vehicle lurched forward. "Come here," she sighed, ignoring the sly look on Gray's face as she helped the dragon slayer slide down and lie his head in her lap. "Alright, guess you're just chatting with me. He's out for a while."

Gray became serious immediately. "You already know what we're talking about, Lucy."

"I had a guess," she admitted, stroking Natsu's hair comfortingly as she watched him roll up his sleeve, revealing the Marks that twined together as they traveled up his arm. They weren't moving as she watched like they had on the child and Xavier's wife, but they were there. There had to be more beneath the jacket he wore. She was impressed he'd kept it on as long as he had. "Juvia knows now, right? You told her?"

He snorted. "Lucy, she already has them herself. Not quite as much, but there's a little spot where the thing caught her."

Lucy groaned softly. "Poor Juvia," she sighed. She paused in running her fingers through the soft pink hair to study Natsu's face. "I'm worried about everyone…" Tears threatened to show up in her eyes. "What are we going to do, Gray? There's no way we can save everyone at this point…"

"I think I've figured out how it happens," Gray told her, studying the black Marks on his arm. "Obviously, don't touch me or Juvia or anyone else who has it. That's how it's transmitted." His dark eyes darted up for a moment. "I think it's when it reaches a certain point that we lose our mind, our logical way of thinking or whatever the hell it is. I don't know what the certain point is. Obviously, unless you kill us, we turn out looking like what we saw…"

Lucy's throat tightened. "We can't kill you. Natsu and I can't, at least. I'm not going to kill you, Gray. I _can't_."

Gray glared at her. "You better if I'm trying to kill any of you guys, Lucy. Do you hear me? If it's between me and someone who isn't infected with this, then you better kill me." He huffed, sitting back and crossing his arms. "I want you to promise me that you guys or one of the others at the guild will. And I want you to promise you'll do the same for any of our nakama that end up the same way, got it? None of us want to kill our nakama. Elfman didn't. Lisanna didn't. It's for the best."

Her voice trembled as she spoke then, her grief obvious. "What did we do to deserve this, Gray? Look how it destroyed Blue Pegasus and where they were...what if it happens to Fary Tail and Magnolia, too? What are we supposed to do if someone like Erza goes crazy and uses her magic against us? Or Mira, or any of the other S-Class mages? They'll kill us all."

"I don't know," Gray said grimly. "But we'll figure it out when the time comes. So far it's looking like the stronger you are, the longer it takes to take over, so they should be okay for the time being. It'll be a few more days at least before Juvia and I are gone." He sighed, turning to look out the window. "We need to try and check in with the other guilds, especially Lamia Scale and Sabertooth. The more mages we have gathered together, the better."

"It could be dangerous though," Lucy commented. "If too many of us get together and a whole bunch have it…"

"True," Gray admitted. "We'll just check in with them, then...Gramps isn't gonna be happy about this…"

"I hope everyone's okay," she murmured quietly, resting her head back again. Her eyes fluttered shut and grief washed over her. _Aries...Virgo…_ She was so worried about them. Were they okay?

 _"Virgo's alright,"_ Aries had said before disappearing. _"She's with the rest of us. I have to go now. Sorry!"_

So perhaps they were safe in the Celestial Realm. But it didn't mean she couldn't worry about them! She wanted to talk with Loke especially, and she knew he wanted to speak with her as well if the heat of the key was anything to go by. But she wouldn't risk summoning him unless she had no other choice. She _couldn't_.

Natsu groaned and she smiled faintly, patting his cheek affectionately. Everything was going to hell, but she'd take the few moments of normality she could get. _Especially_ when it came to taking care of those she loved.

* * *

"Shit!"

Gray somehow managed to jump up onto the seat, yelping when his head smacked against the roof of the vehicle when Lucy and Natsu were sent flying into where his legs had been moments before, the celestial mage sent sprawling across Natsu's face. The dragon slayer let loose a string of curses that would have undoubtedly resulted in Erza's wrath had she been there, gagging, and Lucy squealed, slamming a hand over his mouth after sitting up. "Don't you _dare_!"

"The hell was that?" Gray muttered, looking confused. His hands fidgeted uncertainly, unbuttoning the buttons on his jacket, and Lucy rolled her eyes at the fact that he didn't seem to notice.

There answer came in the way of Juvia throwing the door open, tears rolling down her cheeks and terror written across her face. "Th-there's...s-something happened! Juvia was just...Juvia was just driving and then Juvia saw…"

Lucy scrambled off of the groaning Natsu and threw herself out of the vehicle, careful not to touch Juvia. She made it easier by stepping aside, weeping into her hands. Lucy's face went white and she gave a strangled sob, clapping a hand over mouth when she took in what Juvia had noticed.

Natsu, still looking sick, made his way out after her and Gray hopped out quickly. There was silence except for the girls' crying as they took in the view.

What had once been the town they loved and called home was no more. Similar to the town they'd just returned from, the buildings had all been reduced to rubble except for the occasional ones. Smoke billowed from various places, and there was a certain section of the town that was still ablaze with raging flames. "No," Natsu rasped, looking stunned by the sight before him. His jaw worked furiously as he clenched it, a mixture of rage and grief flooding his features. Gray just looked lost, his eyes staring blankly.

"The guild hall," Lucy choked out, swiping at her eyes to try and see better. She looked dully at the fire mage after taking in the biggest fire of them all. "Natsu, we need to-"

"Yeah," he agreed, cutting her off. He grabbed her arm, pulling her after him as he started forward, but Gray stopped them with his sharply said words.

"Don't, Natsu. We can't go down there yet. There may be more of the Marked running around. Magnolia was even bigger than that other place...it could turn into a lethal situation, and it's getting dark as it is. We'll stay around here for the night and head there in the morning, see if there's any survivors...I doubt all of our guild could have been, err, hurt by that mess."

Juvia sniffled. "Gajeel would protect them." But she sounded uncertain, as if she knew even the iron dragon slayer would have had issues against so many of the Marked.

"If we had Happy," Lucy said mournfully, "We could send him to do a fly over, but...Gray's right, Natsu. We can't do anything now. We need to stay here." She looked at him with watery eyes and Natsu, being himself, groaned, unable to resist her pleading gaze.

"Fine," he snapped, looking irritated and frustrated. "But the second the sun is up, we're heading down there. And I'm not sleeping," he added. "Someone needs to keep an eye on you two before you go nuts and try to kill us."

"Natsu!" Lucy snapped, exasperated, but Gray only shook his head.

"That's not a bad idea, Lucy," he replied. "We could turn at any moment...you should have someone stay on guard. Natsu," he turned to the Salamander now, his eyes firm. "You hear what I told Lucy earlier?"

"Yeah, you stupid ice bastard," Natsu grumbled. "Doesn't mean I like it."

"...how much do you remember of that ride?" Lucy asked curiously, and, to her surprise, despite his irritation towards the situation they now found themselves in, he smirked at her.

"Could rival Mira," was all he said, making the celestial mage groan and bury her face in her hands. Gray didn't seem to look as confused as Juvia did, probably because he'd been with them in the cabin of the vehicle. She glanced confusedly at her beloved ice-make mage and he snickered, muttering, "Lucy decided to do a little song for the idiot."

"Aw," Juvia cooed softly just loud enough that only Gray could hear her. "Juvia is glad." Her gaze darkened. "Juvia doesn't think there will be any more of that now though."

"Probably not," Gray agreed. He took a moment to let his gaze travel over the mess of what had once been Magnolia, his face grim. "Come on, Juvia," he said suddenly. "Let's get things to start a fire...on second thought," he added suddenly, shaking his head. "Let's not. It might attract the Marked...but it's going to start getting cold soon. The first snow should be coming any day now."

In a weak attempt to light up the situation, Lucy patted Natsu's arm. "That's okay. We have a torch if we need it."

Gray gave her a faint smile for her attempt before folding his arms behind his head, studying the area around them. "Come on, let's head a little bit away from here. Just to be safe."

No one said anything as they made their way into the nearby trees.

* * *

Lucy woke up to shooting pains racing up and down her body. She choked on nothing, unable to release any sort of sound to alert her friends as to what was happening. The familiar fire raced through her and she jerkily tried to reach out to brush against anyone to get their attention. But she couldn't reach the nearest person - who would have been Natsu had he not been checking the area at the moment - and she gave a soft groan at the realization that this one she would have to deal with by herself.

It felt as if her heart was literally twisting at the realization that she'd come to rely on Natsu to be there whenever she went through this.

Struggling to drag in air, Lucy weakly forced her arms to move, shoving herself up into a sitting position. Suddenly freezing, she hugged herself, forcing herself to ignore the pain as she rested her head in her lap, a soft sob escaping her lips. It _hurt_. And her back felt as if it was melting off and reattaching itself before repeating the process over and over again…

Trembling, she nearly leaped out of her skin when warmth surrounded her followed by a startled hiss of "Lucy!"

"N-Natsu," she managed to grit out without screaming in the process. Her lungs screamed at her for using what little bit of oxygen she had. She felt something force her upright, pressing against her chest just over where her heart was still thundering away.

And then the pain began to fade away. Lucy shivered as cold washed over her and she instinctively leaned into the above average body heat Natsu offered as he soothingly rubbed her back. She gasped softly, breathing in quiet little pants as she wheezed out, "Thanks."

"Damn it, Luce," he huffed, "If it starts happening, just call for one of us, we'll come help. At least I will, dunno about those two…" Onyx eyes annoyed, Natsu frowned she she trembled again. "You're cold? There's barely a breeze around here."

"Sh-shut up," she stammered, burying her face in her arms. "It's n-not my fault, okay?" She wanted her bed desperately, though she doubted that she'd ever see it again. A thought suddenly hit her. "Natsu," she asked, "Do you think your house would have survived this? It's outside the town, isn't it?"

"Might have," Natsu said thoughtfully. The dragon slayer tilted his head back thoughtfully. "We'll check after we make sure everyone's okay and find out what happened." His gaze darkened. "I'll destroy whoever did this to our guild."

Lucy was hesitant, but pointed out, "Natsu, whoever did this might be _in_ our guild."

He huffed at that, and fell silent.

Lucy dozed on and off for the rest of the night, the nightmares she'd been having chased off by the warmth that Natsu created when he sighed and let her curl up into his side.

* * *

The next morning found the four Fairy Tail members once again looking over their destroyed home. The flames that had roared upon their arrival the day before had died down to a small remainder of cinders though smoke still billowed from the building, and Lucy had to blink back tears. There went the town they had all loved so much.

And it was in that direction they started for. Gray had lost his jacket and shirt during the night, and was still frustrated about it due to the fact that he wasn't exactly happy about walking around with the Marks showing. Lucy had been startled when she'd first seen the extent of them. They'd laced up and down his right arm and chest, almost reaching for his heart. They were mere inches away, though they seemed to have stopped moving for the time being. Juvia kept glancing at him anxiously, clutching one of his arms - the one without the Marks - and he didn't bother trying to push her away as he usually would have. Natsu looked furious, surprisingly silent despite the obvious fighting he wanted to do. And Lucy just hung back slightly behind the rest, miserable.

As they slowly began the descent into Magnolia on foot, her previous conversation with the guildmaster and Cana returned to the forefront of her mind. No matter what they said, the celestial mage couldn't help but feel as if this was her fault. She couldn't exactly pick out _how_ it was her fault, but it was.

"Keep up," Natsu snapped over his shoulder, and Lucy winced at the sharpness of his tone. She couldn't blame him, though. She'd be snapping at everyone else, too, if she wasn't sure that they were the last members of Fairy Tail alive.

That thought made her blood run cold. What was _wrong_ with her? Fairy Tail? Dead? As if. There was no way something like this would have killed off the entire guild! Look what they'd survived through up until this point! Biting back a bitter and hysterical laugh, Lucy forced herself to keep up, feeling determined. Surely at least a few had survived. Their guildmaster wouldn't have been destroyed by something like this.

Her hands came to rest on her keys, more for comfort than anything else. Not like she could summon any of them to help her. But the heat that radiated from them soothed the troublesome feelings in her mind and she found herself able to focus.

Only a few minutes later, the group came across a body...or what was left of it. Lucy looked away quickly, feeling sick, and Juvia gave a small gasp as Gray and Natsu made themselves examine it. "A citizen," Gray decided after examining it for a few moments. Even the ice-make mage looked ill at the sight of a man missing half of his body, his innards sprawled out for a few feet behind him. "Do you smell anything that might be people still alive, Natsu?"

The dragon slayer shook his head. "No," he answered, wincing when he inhaled. "All I smell is smoke and death. And the Marked."

"Juvia thinks we should check where the guildhall was," Juvia said softly, still looking away from the corpse.

"She's right," Lucy agreed. "If anyone survived, it would have been in that area. Our guildmates would have tried to protect innocents."

"Then let's head that way," Natsu muttered. He kept a close eye on Lucy as they headed in that direction, forcing themselves to ignore the dead that littered the streets. When the celestial mage tripped over an arm that had been ripped from the body, she quickly began edging closer to Natsu, who somehow managed to help her not let that happen again.

Finally, they arrived at the destroyed guildhall. It still had puffs of smoke escaping embers, but Natsu ignored them in favor of stepping into the rubble, sniffing intently and ignoring the tears that accompanied the smoke. Lucy watched anxiously as he shuffled through it, undoubtedly looking for people.

But he found no one. Wrinkling his nose, he eventually gave up, returning to join them, completely covered in soot and grime. "Nobody's in there. Not a single body. They might have burned, but...not to complete ash. The flames would have left a body."

"That means there may be survivors?" Juvia said hopefully.

"We need to start looking then," Gray said firmly. "We need to be careful though...the Marked may show up at any point. There have to be a few throughout the place by now. I'd say we should split up to look, but…"

"No," Lucy disagreed. "That's a bad idea. What if we get attacked? We were able to fend them off the last time. We wouldn't be able to if there aren't four of us hanging around together. Not with that amount. But Gray." She glanced at the Marks on his body again. "If you think you're about to lose it, it'd be nice to let us know."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Like I wouldn't say anything," he fired back before rubbing his head. "Tch," he muttered, "This is ridiculous. The hell happened to the world? Where did this even come from? Need to figure out where Elfman came from."

"Who care where it started?" Natsu growled, "We need to figure out how to stop it."

Lucy murmured her agreement to that. She slipped around a corner ahead of her friends, pausing to examine an abandoned building that had managed to stay standing despite all of the craziness around them. A frown appeared on her face and she hesitantly approached it. Juvia, noticing, slipped over to join her.

Lucy had barely brushed her fingers against the doorknob before it suddenly flew open. The door itself slammed into Juvia, sending the water mage flying with a scream. Natsu and Gray whirled around immediately, and Lucy gave a scream of her own, diving out of the way to avoid the streak that flashed through the air. It bent and went after her again and Natsu swore when it went after him when he tried to jump to Lucy's aid. Watching carefully, Gray threw up a barrier of ice that seemed to catch it long enough for them to see what it was.

The second she recognized it, Juvia threw her head back and wailed, "Gajeel! Juvia promises! We're not bad people! We're not like the others!"

Lucy grimaced. Not technically completely truthful, but enough to get their point across, because a moment later, a thunderous looking iron dragon slayer was stepping out of the doorway, his skin replaced by scales of iron. A scuffed looking Levy peeked out from the doorway, her eyes wary, and she was soon joined by a dull-eyed Wendy. Growling, Gajeel gave them a piercing look before relaxing, gruffly muttering, "What the fuck are you doing just storming into buildings, Bunny Girl? Could have killed you idiots."

Lucy gave a strangled laugh that was cut off when Levy gave a sob and pushed past him, ignoring her dragon slayer's warning look as she threw her arms around Lucy in a tight hug.

* * *

 _So things have gotten even worse. Again. Lol. Anyhow, thank you SOOOOO much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They mean the world to me! See you on Monday! ;)_


	11. Chapter 10

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

After tearful reunions and Gajeel fixed the door of the place they were temporarily calling home, what remained of Fairy Tail got down to business. The only citizen in the group of survivors was a small child, who hiccuped as she sought comfort in an equally upset Asuka's arms. When Lucy had glanced their way, Natsu had muttered, "They both reek of those Marks."

"Okay, so let's hear what happened here first," Gray said firmly, daring anyone to say anything else. "Then we'll explain what happened with Blue Pegasus and what we know about the Marked so far." Everybody automatically accepted the name for their new enemies, and Levy's eyes lingered on Gray's own Marks for a moment afterwards.

Lucy took the moment of silence to see who was present, relief filling her when she first spotted Erza and Happy. The blue cat flew over to hug Natsu and the dragon slayer grinned, returning it tightly as the Exceed sobbed. Levy was seated close to Gajeel, practically touching the angry iron dragon slayer and holding Lily in her lap. Wendy was sniffling quietly near Cana, who looked beyond miserable as she hugged a small glass of alcohol she'd managed to rescue. And then there was Asuka and the child, both quiet.

Levy was the one who began to explain what had happened in a quiet and pained voice. "Um, after you guys left, it was quiet for a few hours. Everyone was...you know, being like usual. But then Erza came downstairs - and we were all freaked out, because she wasn't supposed to be down with us until we were sure she was okay - telling us that we needed to leave, because Laxus had lost it. Um, M-Mira was thrown through the ceiling and it's all a blur after that, but-"

"Master stepped in," Gajeel grunted. "They fought. The building practically blew up. A lot of people died. Bit later, there's those fucking things everywhere and now we're here, hiding out."

"He managed to take Laxus out," Levy said quietly.

"Master died in the process," Erza finished, her eyes furious. She was more upset than Lucy ever remembered seeing her, even at the Tower of Heaven.

"Gramps is...dead?" Natsu seemed astonished at the idea of such a thing. "But...he was stronger than everyone. Even me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. _There are quite a few that are...were stronger than you, Natsu,_ she thought.

"His injuries were too grave for Wendy to help him," Cana rasped, "He died early this morning, maybe one or two o'clock. And we've tried to get out of here, but there's always those _things_ , the Marked."

"Moving on," Gray said tiredly. "The same thing basically happened near Blue Pegasus, we think. As for the Marks…" He held out his arms. "Obviously I have them. Juvia, too, she was touched when we were fighting. Natsu says he can smell who has it, so we might as well get that out of the way first…"

"The two runts over there," Gajeel interrupted, jerking his thumb in Asuka's direction. "Erza and Cana, too."

"Sorry, but don't touch them," Gray instructed. "That's definitely how it spreads." Erza and Cana exchanged saddened looks and Lucy found herself longing to hug each of them. "So far we're okay. It has to get to a certain point before we lose our minds and go after you. But we as a group agreed: the second you turn, you need to be put down. We can't take the risk of killing any more of our friends and guildmates."

Murmured agreement filled the air, and Lucy blinked when Natsu suddenly spoke up, his voice blunt but serious, "Keep an eye on Luce, by the way, she's having these weird little pain things. They're random, but her heart stops and she passed out for a while yesterday."

Lucy snorted. Passed out? They both knew she'd done more than pass out. Nonetheless, she stayed silent, only glowering furiously at Natsu for stating this out loud. Happy transferred himself to her lap, hugging the blonde as he sniffled, crying quietly into her shirt. She soothingly ran her hand over his head, murmuring, "Hush, Happy, it'll be okay."

"C-Charle's gone," he sobbed, shaking his head. "It's not okay!"

Shock flooded Lucy, and she realized in that moment that it was why Wendy hadn't run over to greet them like she'd thought she would. "Oh, no," she breathed, grief filling her as she thought of the little white Exceed. "Poor Wendy," she breathed. Her eyes darted to the blank looking sky dragon slayer, taking in her pale appearance. Wendy glanced up, as if hearing her, and Lucy offered her arms open. Tears fell from her eyes as Wendy threw herself at her, and Lucy soothingly ran her fingers through Wendy's long blue hair as the young girl hugged her and Happy with a sob.

"Sh," Lucy soothed, ignoring the sympathetic looks from the others. She continued to reassure the young dragon slayer as everyone else fell into an uncomfortable silence, filled only by Wendy's and Happy's sobs.

Erza was the first to break the silence. "We must see if any of the other guilds have been affected yet. We cannot just sit and wait for the Marked to attack."

"She's right," Cana agreed, downing what remained of her alcohol. The brunette then proceeded to hurl the glass at the wall, watching as it shattered upon impact. The shards struck the floor, scattering wildly. "Maybe there's a way we can fix this...we just gotta look and ask anyone who's still alive."

"It's possible," Gray muttered, looking thoughtful. The ice-make mage glanced at the silent Asuka, who looked as if she was already half-dead. The dead look in her eyes told all of them that she had more than likely witnessed the death of her parents. "We might as well try...should we leave now, though?"

"Why not?" Natsu argued, speaking up for the first time in a while - excluding breaking his promise not to tell anyone - with a fierce look on his face. "It's still early. Sun doesn't set for a while."

"I don't think we should," Levy said quietly, watching as Wendy began to quiet down in Lucy's grasp. She looked exhausted, and Lucy was glad she wasn't the only one to notice. "The little ones aren't able to travel like this, Natsu. The youngest can't even walk yet."

"Juvia could drive the vehicle here," Juvia piped up. "The vehicle was left at the entrance to Magnolia."

"That's true," Lucy admitted. "Wendy would have to walk though. It's not safe to put her in there with Asuka and the other one...and Wendy's not...I don't think she needs to be traveling like this."

"I'll carry the brat," Gajeel offered. Most of them stopped to stare at him in surprise, and he became irritably defensive. "What? Trying to help you idiots. Don't have to, you know."

"No, that would be nice of you," Levy reassured quickly, gently patting Gajeel's arm. Lily snickered quietly in her lap, and the iron dragon slayer shot him a look that promised violence if he didn't stay quiet. "Thank you, Gajeel."

He only grunted in response, scowling and looking away, just daring anyone to say something further.

"Okay, then it's settled. We're leaving now." Erza stood, her dark eyes serious. Cana stumbled to her own feet, her cheeks flushed slightly. Lucy was the last to rise besides Asuka and the child in her arms, looking reluctant to do so when Wendy only tightened her grip around her middle.

"I really don't think we should be going anywhere," Lucy protested, but she was ignored when Juvia said with a forced cheerful tone, "Juvia will bring the vehicle here." She shyly looked over at Gray, who sighed as she asked, "Will Gray go with me?"

"Fine," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Let's go." The two slipped out of the building without hesitation.

Frustrated, Lucy gave up, shaking her head. "Come on, Wendy," she sighed, "We have to go. Idiots," she added under her breath. She was frustrated beyond belief. How stupid could these people get? More than one of them needed rest - that included her, she'd been exhausted after her midnight pain spree and the nightmares that accompanied it. But then again, these were members of Fairy Tail. Who was she kidding? They wouldn't listen to anyone at times like this.

She helped the sky dragon slayer to her feet, making sure she had Happy tucked under her free arm, the tensed when Asuka suddenly gave a horrified cry. Everyone's heads snapped around to look at her as she stared at the child in her arms with terror. Erza leaped to the rescue by hurrying over and kneeling beside her, checking over them with a near motherly look on her face. She pulled the child away with a grim look only moments later. "She's dead," Erza murmured, shaking her head.

A mere moment after the words were said, Lucy felt a twinge of pain race through her. She gave a soft gasp, cringing, and Wendy's eyes snapped to her when her heart faltered for just a brief moment. But, just as quickly as it came, the pain left her, and she found herself just a little tired, nothing like the times before.

"L-Lucy?" Wendy whispered, as if sensing the need to keep this quiet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lucy answered softly, hugging herself. "I'm fine."

Erza set the dead child aside, instead pulling Asuka up into her arms, careful not to slam the girl against her armor as she was used to doing with the older guild members when hugging them. Asuka gave a weak sob, hiding her face against the redhead's armor.

When Erza spoke, her voice was cold. "Let's go."

* * *

The group set out the second Gray and Juvia had returned from retrieving the vehicle. It was Juvia who sat in the cabin with Asuka, reassuring the young girl that it would be alright, that her mother and father wouldn't have minded her leaving Magnolia. Lucy had to bite back a small flood of tears at the thought that Alzack and Bisca wouldn't be minding anything anymore.

Levy, not to anyone's surprise, stuck close to Gajeel and Lily, who she carried in her arms after asking if she could. The trio walked a bit ahead of the now slowly moving vehicle that Erza had offered to drive. Gray had decided to grudgingly grant Juvia a favor and sit with her and Asuka, and Cana walked beside the vehicle, looking lost in thought as flipped a card between her fingers. Happy was flopped unhappily on the brooding Natsu's head. The fire mage would pause every now and then to glance over his shoulder to check on Lucy, who walked hand in hand with Wendy. The youngest dragon slayer had skipped out on Gajeel's - surprisingly serious - offer to carry her in favor of sticking close to the quite celestial mage.

Lucy hugged herself, wrapping her arms around her middle with a small pain of grief for all of the guild members they had lost. _Why?_ she thought miserably, _Why is this happening to_ us _? I know we've done our fair share of destruction, but does that really matter compared to all of the good we've done?_

They'd been traveling for a few hours at this point, making their way through the countryside. They'd come across only one village so far, and it, too, had been destroyed. Juvia had made sure that little Asuka hadn't seen the destruction, but that hadn't saved the rest of them from the disturbing sights of bodies that had been torn into pieces.

It was in that town that Lucy saw one of the most heartbreaking things she'd ever seen. A dead infant, no more than a few days old, clutched to the bared breasts of its dead mother. The mother lay slumped to the side on the ground, her eyes glazed over. The killing wound was obvious, as her head was nearly decapitated from her body. Blood had long since stopped running from the injury.

Cana clapped a hand over her mouth, the usually tough woman looking sick, and Lucy tucked Wendy under her arm, both looking straight ahead and refusing to examine it further. Gajeel, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the task of checking the body for marks. He was careful not to touch it, sniffing carefully instead. Levy kept back, grimacing, and set Lily down upon the Exceed's demand. Lily joined the iron dragon slayer, glancing at him. "Well?" he demanded, though he was sniffing as well.

Lucy found herself curious despite the situation. Did the Exceeds smell as well as their dragon slayer companions? It appeared not, however, as Lily quickly gave up. "Nothin'," Gajeel reported, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Only smells like death. There's some around here though, I can smell them from here...be careful."

"Great," Cana grumbled. For comfort, the card mage took a few more cards out. These she didn't flip around between her fingers, instead holding them at the ready, her dark eyes serious. Tension followed this, and the smallest of flames appeared at Natsu's fingertips.

"Come on," Lucy said with a look of misery on her face. She forced herself to move forward, her free hand tightening into a fist so tight her knuckles turned white. Erza, who had a higher vantage point then all of them at the moment, suddenly called, her eyes darkening, "It appears that we will be stopping for the time being."

"Great," Lucy gritted out, knowing simply by the tone of Erza's voice that they were about to face another group, pack, or whatever it was of the Marked. Her hand went to her whip, ignoring the warmth of her keys as her hand brushed against them. One nearly seared her flesh when she accidently touched it, and she was fairly sure it was Loke or Aquarius, maybe even Taurus or Gemini.

Erza slammed a fist on top of the vehicle, denting the roof. Gray swung the door open with a confused expression until he took in the wary aura rising from everyone there. He gave a curt nod and stepped out, and Lucy fought the urge to slam a hand to her forehead when she realized he'd somehow managed to lose his pants during their time traveling. Juvia spoke quietly to Asuka before also climbing out, and Erza requipped into a set of armor that Lucy hadn't seen before. The armor cloaked her from head to toe, and when she caught Lucy's curious look, the scarlet-haired mage said quietly, "I don't want to accidentally touch one of you."

Lucy mentally applauded her. That wasn't a bad idea at all. Too bad Gray couldn't keep any clothes on, otherwise she would have suggested they all do that.

A snarl filled the air, and it took her a moment to realize the sound had escaped Gajeel, who was glaring off to their right. She followed his gaze and sure enough, there was a mutated creature, it's gray tongue hanging out of its rotting mouth, it's crazed black-red eyes gleaming in a lethal way. It was soon joined by a few more, and Lucy found herself relieved that this hadn't happened in Magnolia, which she knew without a doubt was a hell of a lot bigger than this small village.

Natsu spoke up for the first time in a while, and Lucy shuddered at the harsh tone he used as flames lit along his arms. "Don't let them touch you," he warned, his onyx eyes darting to Lucy momentarily and sticking there. Lucy grimaced, reading the message he was silently sending her with ease.

Don't let what happened previously happen.

In other words, don't have an attack, and don't pass out. While they had more people with them this time, they didn't have the hands to spare to protect their unconscious comrade if it happened.

And he didn't want her suffering, but she was sure he was in too much of a bad mood to admit that. She was pretty certain that the "overprotective dragon slayer" act he sometimes put on was going to take over at this rate.

She didn't have time to think after that.

The Marked suddenly surged forward, giving that bone-chilling scream, and Wendy gave a scared cry, her eyes widening and her hands rising to clap over her ears in an attempt to drive out the sound. Lucy set to work on protecting the terrified dragon slayer girl, letting her whip lash out around her, sending one of the Marked flying towards Erza, who simply twirled and let one of the two swords she wielded slice it in half.

The battle was a mess around her. Blood and gore flew everywhere, and Lucy had to fight the urge to flinch when one of Gray's icy lances nearly caused some to spatter her.

While the rest of them were having one of the worst times of their lives - particularly Levy, who was starting to get frustrated that every time she tried to go after one, Gajeel was there, making sure she didn't get touched - Natsu looked almost as if he was actually enjoying himself. Lucy knew he'd been wanting to fight, to vent out the rage the creatures had caused when they'd been the source of the force that was killing and had already killed his nakama. But it still made her shudder when she took in the smug little smirk on his face, one she hadn't seen in a while.

Suddenly, Juvia screamed. "Asuka!" the water mage cried, throwing herself forward in a wave of water, nearly taking out the two Exceeds that had been floating protectively beside the vehicle. Lily had long since lost the energy to keep up his alternate appearance, and there were a few Marked ones attempting to pry the doors open.

In a moment of panic, Lucy did something she'd regret. Her hand darted to her ring of keys, and without hesitation, she opened the gate to Horologium.

Tears building in her eyes when she realized what she'd done, she ordered shakily, "Help Asuka...please," she whispered to him.

By the time the clock spirit had somehow managed to get Asuka out of the vehicle - Juvia was doing a very good job of keeping any more of the Marked away as he did so - Lucy came to two very sudden realization.

One, there was something wrong with Asuka, who had pulled her lips back in an unnatural way, her glare landing directly on Lucy as she scowled, and two, there was an extra spirit that had somehow appeared beside her. Lyra had a serious look on her pretty face as she grabbed Lucy's arm, determination showing. Lucy could already feel both keys beginning to disintegrate. "Lyra!" she cried, "But-"

"There's no time," Lyra growled, slamming a hand over the celestial mage's mouth. "You must listen. There's-"

She vanished, and her key turned to dust at the same that Horologium did. Free, Asuka suddenly launched herself at the nearest mage, who just so happened to be Lucy herself. Panicked, Lucy threw her arms up to try and stop her from tearing into her face, but Wendy came to the rescue, tears pouring down the sky dragon slayer's face as she used Sky Dragon's Roar to kill what had been an innocent child not even minutes before.

The battle almost seemed to pause for a moment as the Fairy Tail mages realized what had happened. But the quick and sudden death of the young girl doubled their efforts. With a roar of rage, Natsu unleashed an enormous stream of flames that nearly sent Gray in flames alongside the Marked. _"Not that it would have mattered,"_ he would say later, when they were recuperating. _"Should have done it anyways. Would have saved a lot of trouble for you guys later."_

Erza jumped out of the way of the fire, which lit the vehicle they'd been using aflame. It was only a few seconds later that it exploded in a huge blast, sending Cana and the Exceeds to the ground, singed and nearly unconscious from knocking their heads.

"Watch it, you pyromaniac!" Gray nearly screamed at the fire mage, but Natsu didn't seem to hear him, instead doing the same thing in another direction. Gajeel shouted at him this time, as the blast nearly struck him dead on.

Juvia came to the rescue, somehow dousing the fires without letting her watery body touch any of them. The water slithered across the ground like snakes, and Lucy moved aside to let it get to a small flame behind her.

And then, pain exploded behind her eyes and in her chest. She dropped to her knees, abandoning her whip in favor of clutching her head with a pained moan. Wendy noticed almost immediately and moved to step to her aid, but then gave a shriek when one of the larger Marked ones loomed over her, dripping with blood as it prepared to lunge for her.

"Damn it!" Natsu leaped to the rescue, inhaling sharply before snarling out, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" The blast of flame nearly incinerated the creature where it stood, and he stepped to Lucy's side, a warm hand brushing against her back as he knelt to check on her. Lucy gave a small scream of pain, however, and he jerked his hand away quickly as she trembled, choked sounds giving away the fact that she couldn't breathe.

Before he could say anything, Erza called out a warning, and one of the Marked suddenly threw itself at them. Wendy, this time prepared, used her own dragon slayer magic to get rid of it as she said shakily, "Help the others, I'll protect her."

"Make sure her heart keeps beating," was all Natsu said before calling out for Happy. The blue cat appeared immediately, hoisting the pink-haired man into the air despite the ruffled look he wore. Happy would need serious rest after this.

Vision blurred, Lucy suddenly forced herself to sit up. She tilted, and Wendy gingerly helped her sit up straight, eyes darting this way and that as she made sure nothing came too close. "Come on, Lucy," Wendy said reassuringly, "You'll be okay."

Frustrated, Lucy gave Wendy an irritated look before dropping to her knees again after a failed attempt at standing to fend off the Marked. Wendy let another Sky Dragon's Roar leave her, ripping two of them into pieces.

It wasn't long before Lucy was gasping for breath again, clutching her head as she forced herself to her feet, and the Marked were either fleeing or dead on the ground. The celestial mage sat up after a few gasps, hurriedly searching for each of her friends. They all appeared to be alright - excluding the now dead Asuka - much to her relief. Cana had a bloodied lump on one head that she was nursing from where she was seated on the ground, Lily beside her as he thought something over. Levy was making sure Gajeel was okay - the iron dragon slayer had been amazing, Lucy thought, but had used a lot of his energy to create iron that he could throw instead of slamming his fists around - and Wendy was silent beside her. Gray and Juvia were stumbling over, and her heart gave a twinge of grief when she saw the black Marks on Gray's body...though she was careful not to let her gaze travel too far when she realized he was completely naked.

And then there was her dragon slayer. Natsu had an exhausted Happy tucked safely under one arm as he made his way over, his eyes suspiciously bright. While Lucy didn't appreciate the obvious relaxation he'd fell into over taking out his frustrations, she was glad he wasn't giving their friends dark looks anymore.

"Anyone touched?" Gray demanded when Erza had come over, back in her usual armor. "Did any of you guys get touched?"

They all shook their heads, and Juvia gave a faint smile. "Juvia is glad," she announced. "Even if you are all love rivals, Juvia doesn't want you to get them."

"We're not love rivals, Juvia," Cana rasped, looking exasperated. "The hell would I want with that stripper?"

Lucy gave a breathless giggle, then grimaced when her knees went out - again! Concerned looks appeared on her friends' faces, and she only waved them off. "I'm fine," she tried to reassure, looking exhausted. "Just need some rest…" Her gaze landed dully on the golden dust around her, where what was left of two of her keys remained.

How many more were going to die because of this? Were they all doomed to die?

"Lucy?" Erza panted, her gaze full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Will be," she mumbled, tears rolling down her cheeks. She hurried to swipe at them. Nobody else was crying, not even Wendy. The sky dragon slayer was gently holding onto her arm, making sure Lucy didn't fall from her seated position and hit her head on the random debris that filled the space around them.

Juvia sniffled, looking back with a saddened yet disgusted look at the bits of flesh that had once belonged to some of the Marked and Asuka. "Juvia thinks we should keep moving," she said softly. "Juvia thinks they will come back with more."

"She's right," Levy said softly. The solid-script mage had a nasty looking gash on her cheek from trying to avoid something that had been sent flying at her. Gajeel kept glancing at it, his red eyes narrowed, as if he was furious about it.

"We can't travel," Erza tried to protest. "Lucy-"

"I'm fine," Lucy insisted. "Just...I'll need some help walking, that's all. Wendy, help me - oof! Natsu! Put me _down_ , I can walk!"

"We need to get going," Natsu said, glancing around. It was then that Lucy realized Wendy looked frightened and Gajeel had a darkened look on his face. All three dragon slayers looked anything but happy. "They're coming back already...and they brought more." He glanced at Cana. "You able to run?"

Cana scowled. "Yes, I can run. I'm not concussed, trust me."

He shrugged. "We can't tell with you, you're always drunk." That said, he took off at a run, ignoring the snarled words Lucy hissed into his ear as she cradled the blue Exceed that had been shoved into her arms. The others followed close behind, Gajeel not hesitating to scoop up a unresisting Wendy and throw her over his shoulder.

The Marked merely watched their departure with growls rumbling deep in their throats, dead gray tongues flicking out every now and then like a snake's to taste the air.

* * *

 _I apologize for any mistakes, I had to hurry up to post this chapter! Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows and see you on Friday! ;)_


	12. Chapter 11

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

It was an almost entirely silent night. The only sound was that of soft breathing and cackling flames from two small campfires that had been built so those around it could get warm. While _some_ of them - Lucy glared at Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray when thinking this - were able to deal with the weather at this time of year without even having to put on a jacket, the rest of them were forced to huddle together.

Those with the Marks had a separate campfire than those without. Erza, Juvia, and Cana were sitting quietly beside each other, and Levy and Lucy were leaning against each other, each holding an Exceed. Wendy was sitting on Lucy's other side, her gaze staring into the flames. Gajeel was sitting on the other side of the fire, and the celestial mage guessed he was listening for any signs of attack, much like Natsu, who was on high alert. Gray was keeping a third eye out from where he was sitting a foot away from Erza, causing the requip mage to earn several half-hearted glares from Juvia, who didn't have the energy to launch into her usual "love rival" speech about the matter.

Levy flipped the page of a book she'd rescued from the library, her glasses perched on her nose. One of the lenses was cracked, but she ignored it in favor of scanning her eyes over each page carefully. Curious, Lucy peered over her shoulder at the book. "What are you reading?"

Levy flashed her a quick smile. "I managed to rescue this book...it's the one that had information about that mark on your back." She paused. "Can I check on it, Lucy? I want to see if this part I read applies to you."

"Go ahead," she said with a shrug. Lucy ignored Lily's smirk as she twisted, allowing Levy to peer at her back after lifting the ragged shirt she wore. So much for the suitcase she'd packed. It had been lost back when they were checking on Blue Pegasus.

When Levy was done, she looked upset. "The mark is filling in with black...," she said quietly, ignoring the curious look Gajeel was giving them. "Anyways, I was hoping there might be something about what's going on in here, but I haven't found anything yet." She sighed in disappointment, closing the book, then flushed slightly when her stomach growled. "It doesn't help that I'm hungry and can't focus, either."

Lucy gave a soft laugh at that, propping her elbow on her knee and her chin on her palm. She returned her gaze to the flickering flames Natsu had created for them to keep warm by. They fell into a companionable silence for a few moments before Lucy asked softly, "Is there anything about what happened with Horologium and Lyra?"

"I looked," Levy admitted. The young woman tugged thoughtfully on a lock of blue hair that hung wildly in her face. She'd lost her headband long ago, and Lucy knew she was annoyed by the way she shoved them back. "But there wasn't anything...there isn't really anything about any of this, Lucy," she said quietly. "I don't know what to do."

"It's alright," the celestial mage soothed, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Right now, let's just focus on seeing if there are more survivors out there, okay?"

"Right," Levy agreed. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to tuck her hair out of her face again, but failed miserably. "I know it's wrong, but the next town we get to, can I steal a headband?" she said in exasperation.

"Gihihi!" Gajeel threw his head back and laughed at the bookworm. "Here, shrimp," he said, ignoring the looks of surprise sent his way when he simply tore a strip of cloth off of his already damaged shirt. He tossed it to the flushed woman. "Use it."

"Th-thanks," Levy stammered, folding the cloth carefully and doing just that.

Lucy smiled at the annoyed glare Gajeel shot Natsu's way when the fire dragon slayer smirked at him, then turned her attention onto Wendy. "You okay?" she asked quietly, gently touching her shoulder.

"Y-yeah," Wendy whispered, looking up for a moment before looking at her lap. "I-I just...I was th-thinking of Charle." She hiccuped, earning a softened expression from Lucy when she realized that Wendy had been crying.

Lucy wrapped an arm around the young dragon slayer's shoulders, hugging her gently. "It's okay," she murmured. "Crying helps sometimes, trust me."

They fell back into silence for a while, nobody saying a word until Cana suddenly gave an excited cry, shoving herself to her feet. Juvia squealed in surprise, nearly falling into Erza's lap, and in return, Erza nearly knocked Gray out when she flailed her arms to keep her balance instead of falling into Gray's lap. The people around the other fire leaped to their feet, ready to fight until they realized Cana was grinning.

Scowling, Gajeel glared. "What the fuck are you so happy about, drunk?"

"Gajeel," Levy said with a desperate sigh. "Stop calling people names, it's not nice." He only rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother," Lily sighed to her, "He's hopeless when it comes to such matters."

Lucy fought back laughter at the look on Gajeel's face, then focused on Cana, who'd begun to speak in excitement. "I have an idea...there might be a way I can contact my old man!"

"You can contact _Gildarts_?" Natsu yelped. "Why didn't you say something sooner? That guy would be great right now!"

"Or," Erza said with a dejected look. "He could have the Marks, too. I don't think any of us could stop him if he got the Marks. He'd kill us all."

There was a moment of depressed silence before Cana shook her head. "That guy's too strong," she said confidently. "And it's not so much as _contacting_ as it is _finding_." She sat back down, folding her legs gracelessly and spread out a few cards before her. "Now shut your mouths. I need to focus."

Everyone clamped their mouths immediately, their eyes never leaving the card mage as she set to work on reading her cards. She would occasionally flip one over, place a new one down, then read them again with narrowed eyes. At one point, she cringed, as if pained, and it was then that she decided she was done. There was a dark look in her eyes as she shuffled the deck together, looking down. "He's in the direction we're heading, surprisingly enough, but...something's going to happen soon, something big. I'm worried."

"Maybe it'll be a good thing for once," Lucy said softly, her tone hopeful despite the not-so-hopeful look in her eyes. She tucked her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. Levy patted her back soothingly, careful not to touch the tender flesh that the mark was engraved into.

"Maybe," Natsu agreed, deciding he was done with sitting apart from them to keep an eye out. He strode over and flopped down beside the celestial mage, close enough that he just barely brushed against her. Happy patted his leg happily before curling up to sleep against Lucy again. Lily, too, had grown tired it appeared and had dozed off in Levy's lap, making her giggle at the tough little Exceed.

Lucy leaned lightly into Natsu for a moment to show her gratitude for his presence, then flushed when her stomach spoke up much like Levy's had not too long ago. Natsu snickered, then muttered, "We'll see if we can find something to eat tomorrow."

"Thanks," she muttered back. She spared a saddened look at their separated nakama. Grief flashed through her and she bit back a soft whimper. It wasn't now, but they'd eventually be forced to kill them, and she just didn't want that to happen. But it wasn't up to her. She'd have to do it if necessary, as would the rest of them.

She leaned into Natsu again, this time staying there, and in response, he tossed an arm around her shoulders, glaring at Gajeel and daring the snickering iron dragon slayer to say a single word about the matter.

They fell into a silence that lasted the rest of the night, and Lucy found herself able to sleep without being plagued by nightmares for the first time in a long time.

* * *

The next morning found all of them prepared to travel again. There was no way they could stay in one place for too long, they'd decided the night before. It was better that they travel and deal with problems when they arose.

What they all found concerning, however, was how far the Marks had spread on Gray. The ice-make mage pretended he was fine with it, but they could all see the fear in his eyes when he realized that they'd spread again over the night. They danced across his face now, and Lucy frowned when she realized they were reaching for his heart. When she suggested if that's when it took effect to Levy, the solid-script mage agreed that it was more than possible, almost confirmed.

Erza had become unnaturally quiet over the course of their travels, and Lucy found herself asking why about an hour into their walking as she kept pace only a few inches from her, careful not to touch her.

"I am concerned," the requip mage admitted quietly, glancing around. "What if Jellal was affected?"

"Oh, Erza," Lucy breathed, sorrow filling her gaze when she realized that the once powerful Titania looked defeated. "I'm sure Jellal is fine...we'll look for him after we find Gildarts, okay? I promise."

"I don't believe I will last that long," Erza admitted. "Gray is the furthest along despite the fact that I received the disease first. But the Marks are doing the same to me. They are reaching for my heart." She swept her scarlet hair away from her neck, showing Lucy the Marks that had laced up her neck.

Lucy was hesitant to speak the next words she uttered, but did so anyways. "Well, even if you aren't here when we find Gildarts and go after him, I'll make sure he's safe. I promise."

Erza gave the celestial mage a tight smile. "Thank you, Lucy," she said honestly.

"No problem." Lucy returned the smile with a bright one before it dropped off of her face. "Now, let's see if we can convince the idiotic men to stop for a break...Wendy looks ready to fall on her face...I know she's a dragon slayer and she traveled with us before, but I think she's in shock over Charle's death."

"It's possible," Erza murmured. She watched as Lucy left her side to check on the youngest of the three dragon slayers, her gaze saddened.

After checking on Wendy, Lucy moved on to walk beside Natsu. The fire mage was keeping an eye out for the Marked again, his onyx eyes scanning the area around them every now and then, ears strained for even the slightest sound. He spared her a glance when she fell into step beside him. "Where's Happy?" she asked.

"He went on to see what he could find ahead," Natsu reported. "He'll be back soon. The little guy wanted to help, so I told him and Lily to do it."

"Maybe they'll find something good," Lucy replied, contemplating something for a few moments before shaking her head with a sigh. "I told Erza we'd search out Jellal after we find Gildarts...he'd be good to have with us, too, even if he is a bit strange. He's strong, too." She sighed. "I wish I could summon my spirits...but they just disappear when I do…" Pain flashed across her face at the memory of Lyra's serious face. "I think they know something about what's going on, but they can't tell me before they disappear."

Natsu scowled. "Well whatever it is would be helpful," he grumbled. "We need something that'll help us… Having Gildarts around wouldn't be bad, he'd help keep the Marked off of our backs, but Levy can't figure anything out and we have no leads on what to do."

"Maybe, if some of the other guilds survived," Lucy said thoughtfully, "They might have some clues and we can all put them together and figure out what needs to be done."

Natsu shrugged, falling silent, and Lucy did the same. She wrapped her arms around herself, biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed. She desperately hoped their friends from the other guilds had survived. She knew that though he had yet to say anything, Gray wanted to make sure Lyon was alive and well. Lucy wanted to check on Yukino and the rest of Sabertooth as well.

But she had a feeling, a sick twisted feeling that they had been destroyed, too. Maybe not all of them, maybe there were some survivors running around like the last of Fairy Tail was, but she knew somewhere in her mind that they had been through the same as them.

Her heart faltered in her chest.

Lucy swore and crumpled to her knees, Natsu already growling beside her as he knelt to make sure she was alright. Trying to swallow the screeches and shrieks that wanted to escape, Lucy tried to shove him and Wendy away when the younger dragon slayer darted over. "I'm okay," she tried to wheeze out, failing miserably. "I'm okay."

"This is not okay!" Natsu shouted in her ear, frustrated that he couldn't do anything to help. The others all bustled around - at least, Levy and Gajeel did. Levy looked horrified at the sight of her friend while Gajeel gave her a thunderous look that threatened violence as he took in the sudden strange scent radiating from her.

"What's going on?" Erza snapped from where she and the others with the Marks were hanging back. She looked distressed over the fact that she couldn't join in and try to help Lucy, "try" being the key word.

Lucy only groaned, her hands clutching at her chest as the familiar fire raced through her painfully. She tried to suck in air but came up with nothing, and her hand darted out to grab Natsu's scarf before the fire mage could shove Gajeel back. The iron dragon slayer looked as if he was ready to tear the blonde woman apart. "Don't," she managed to choke out, "Don't fight."

"She's right, it might attract their attention," Gray gritted out, looking frustrated.

"Gajeel," Levy pleaded, "Don't, she's still Lucy, remember? Natsu said she's gone through it before." The solid-script mage stood and pushed him back...or at least she tried. It was rather difficult to push someone back when they were close to two feet taller than you and made up of solid muscle.

And then Lucy could breathe. She gasped, coughing as she gulped down air. "I'm fine," she insisted to Wendy and Natsu, who were both hovering over her with anxious looks on their faces. "Or I will be...in a moment…" she panted.

Erza's eyes were filled with worry for her friend, and Juvia was fiddling anxiously with a lock of blue hair. Cana looked downright confused as to what had just happened, and was holding a card tightly in her hand.

"Lucy?" Levy said gently, "Are you okay?"

"No," she grumbled, rubbing her temples as she sat back. "That hurt," she admitted. It had been one of the shortest yet worst attacks so far, and she found it concerning.

Erza looked puzzled. "I have not seen anything like this before...anything that's going on in the world at the moment, honestly, but this especially."

Levy patted Lucy's shoulder before gently prying her shirt up to peer at the tender mark on her back. "It's filled out more," she whispered. "Lucy, it's nearly half-way completed."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Gray demanded, gaze darting back and forth between them.

Looking smug about the fact that he seemed to know more than most of the others, Gajeel grunted, "Mark on her back is filling in 'cause of that curse thing." He turned his sharp red eyes on Levy. "What's it gonna do to Bunny Girl when it's completed?"

Levy shook her head. "I don't know, but I doubt it will be good for her." She bit her lip, offering a hand to pull Lucy to her feet. The blonde accepted, staggering for a moment before catching her balance. Natsu stood swiftly as well, yelping when the hand that still held his scarf tugged sharply on it. She muttered an apology and released him.

"Either way," Gajeel said gruffly, his eyes never leaving the celestial mage. She shuddered at the dark look in them, just daring her to try something similar to what the Marked did. "We need to get a move on. I'm bettin' that the dark stuff will bring those things to us."

"He's right," Cana agreed. "We need to get moving. I'm worried that they're hunting us...making a game out of killing us or waiting for the few of us that are screwed to join them."

Silence fell at the reminder for a moment before Erza asked Lucy, "Are you able to continue?"

"Yeah," Lucy mumbled tiredly. "I can keep going."

"We should stop and wait for Happy and Lily to come back," Wendy protested. Her dark eyes were wide with concern for the two Exceeds. "They might not find us if we keep going...can we wait a few minutes? They should be back soon."

"I think we should do what Wendy says," Levy agreed quietly with a hesitant look towards Gajeel, who rolled his eyes before crossing his arms and mumbling something that sounded like his agreement to her words.

"Juvia, too," Juvia supplied.

"Not a bad idea," Gray agreed.

So, the group of mages spent the next while standing around, waiting on Happy and Lily to come back. They'd been standing there for going on half of an hour when Natsu suddenly tensed, his eyes snapping to the sky. Gajeel made a sound low in his throat, and Wendy gave a gasp.

"What?" Gray snapped. "What's going on now?" Lucy glanced in his direction and felt the blood leave her face when she took in the Marks. His gaze was dulled when it met hers, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

The tips had begun to brush against the flesh over his heart, and it looked almost as if they were delving _into_ it. Lucy knew without a doubt that within the next day they'd lose their friend, and it made her eyes fill with tears. That only increased when she looked up - just in time for Happy to plummet from the sky.

A scream left Wendy's lips, and Natsu swore, throwing himself forward to catch the little blue cat. He almost didn't make it, barely managing to grab him before he hit the ground. "Happy!" Natsu cried, looking panicked, "Happy, can you hear me?"

"N-Natsu," he wheezed out, staring up at the pink-haired mage. Tears filled his eyes, and then he was wailing, "Th-they attacked and g-got Lily!"

Numbness filled Lucy, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, her gaze locked blankly on the sobbing cat. Cana was right. They had done it on purpose, she realized, her face going white. They had let Happy live on purpose. They were picking the group off, one by one, as if it was a game they were eager to enjoy.

"G-Gajeel, c-calm down." Levy's stammered statement and the slight fear in her voice had Lucy's gaze darting to Gajeel, her eyes snapping wide when she took in the look of pure rage on his face. With a roar, the iron dragon slayer whirled around, his arm becoming a club of iron as he slammed it through a tree. He whirled on a second and did the same, and soon, there was an area of destruction all around him. Levy was in tears, looking lost about what to do, and Lucy staggered over to give the solid-script mage a hug, murmuring to her, "Give him a few minutes, Levy, I'm sure he'll calm down."

"Gajeel!" Erza shouted over the sounds of trees falling and being obliterated. "You will bring-"

He cut her off by turning the massive iron club on her. Erza clenched her jaw, jumping back as far as she could. Gray threw up a shield of ice to block a blow that was directed at him and Juvia, who was wailing for her friend to stop. Cana dove behind it at the last second when it descended upon her, and Natsu swore as he shoved Happy into Lucy's arms and took up a protective stance in front of her, Levy, and Wendy.

Lucy could have sworn she saw the beginnings of the Dragon Force showing up, iron scales threatening to line along his flesh.

Levy's gaze suddenly hardened, though there was still a bit of fear there. She pulled away from Lucy, darting out from behind Natsu to throw herself at the iron dragon slayer. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she buried her face against him, hugging Gajeel tightly. She was whispering and murmuring desperately to him as he snarled at her to get off of him, and it seemed to do the trick, as a moment later, the iron club returned to a normal-looking hand. Looking hesitant, Levy looked up, and then smiled faintly when she realized that whatever her plan was had worked.

Natsu hesitantly relaxed, turning his attentions back onto the now unconscious Happy, who Lucy cradled gently in her arms. He gently patted their friend's head, glancing at Lucy's face, and she bit her lip, deciding against voicing what she thought was going to happen. No use in making everything worse than it already was.

"He'll be okay," she tried to say reassuringly, but it only came out as a soft sob, and she lifted a hand to bury her face in her palm.

"Lucy," Wendy said softly, touching her arm in reassurance.

She only began to cry harder when Natsu drew her in for a hug, resting his chin gently on top of her head. "We need to stop for the night," he called to the others, reassuringly ruffling her blonde hair.

The others didn't protest.

* * *

The next few hours went swirling past in a wave of misery for them all. Lucy guessed that by the way Gajeel was hanging closer to Levy than normal that he was way more upset than he was letting on. Not that she could blame him. Outside of Levy and Juvia, Lily had been his closest friend. And he'd been killed.

All of their concerns, however, had been turned on Gray. The ice-make mage was slowly but surely getting worse, it appeared. He was obviously fighting whatever it was, and he looked nearly feverish at the moment. Juvia was sitting close beside him, fretting over him, and Erza was put in charge of keeping an eye on Gray to make sure he didn't go after anyone when he changed.

 _When_ he changed.

Lucy hated the idea.

Happy had woken up for a few minutes before curling up in Lucy's lap to sleep again, trembling every now and then as some kind of nightmare tore at his poor mind, and from where she sat, Lucy could hear Natsu muttering a thanks to Wendy for healing the Exceed and Wendy reassuring him that she'd come and check on Happy later, after he'd rested some more.

The celestial mage watched quietly as Natsu set to work on preparing the fires for the night, and felt grateful for the heat that radiated from the one he lit near her. It had grown colder throughout the day as clouds rolled in, threatening to dump snow on them all. Gray had contemplated making a shelter for them, but had decided against it when Erza had stated that it was a bad idea to trap all of them in the same building with someone who was about to become an enemy. None of them had appreciated the bluntness of her reminder, but all had agreed that it was true.

Lucy stroked Happy's head soothingly and glanced up when Natsu dropped down beside her, swiping at the corner of his mouth as if he'd just eaten something...and Lucy realized he had, catching sight of Levy creating iron for Gajeel to chow down on. Her own stomach growled warningly, and she flushed when Natsu flashed her the briefest of smirks.

"Figured we needed it," he said in way of explanation. "We need the energy in case something attacks."

"The rest of us do, too," Lucy said softly, biting her lip. "We can't fight properly if we're starving to death...have you guys smelled anything that could be hunted around here?"

Natsu took a moment to check for that, then grinned. "There's some kind of animal around here I can grab if you want. I want some, too, though."

"Oh, _hell_ no," Cana shouted from where she'd been eavesdropping on their conversation at the second fire he'd set up again. The card mage gave him a look. "You can eat last. Otherwise the rest of us won't get anything. Besides, didn't Levy just feed you fire...oh!" She glanced hopefully at Levy. "Could you use your magic to make food for us? Like real cooked food?"

Levy flushed, shaking her head. "Maybe, but it's a bad idea. I've never done it and it could be bad for you."

"I'll try it," Gray offered, "Don't got much longer left anyways."

"Don't say that, Gray," Juvia scolded, tugging sharply on his arm. Her own Marks had reached her fingers and hands, and Lucy felt a flash of panic. Surely it wasn't moving _that_ fast! Her eyes darted to Cana and was horrified to see the marks dancing up her belly and arms, heading for her heart though they seemed to have stopped for the time being.

Near S-Class mages, and they were still dying from this.

So much for being the top guild in Fiore.

Lucy ran her fingers through her messy blonde hair, jumping when Natsu ruffled it, only making it worse. "I'll go catch that thing running around then. Shouldn't be too hard." In a weak attempt to bring back some good moods, he smirked at Gajeel. "Bet I can get it before you could."

Gajeel shot Natsu a look that had Lucy cringing in fear. "Fuck off, Salamander," he spat out.

"Gajeel," Levy scolded, exasperated, but she didn't say anything else about the matter, instead taking the last bit of iron from what she'd created and shutting him up by shoving it into his mouth. Gajeel choked on it in surprise, and Levy only smirked at him before dancing away to join Lucy at the fire, rubbing her arms to fight off the cold. "We should see what happens when we light Natsu on fire," she mused, "Not anytime soon of course, but one day. I'm curious."

"He'd probably just thank you and eat it," Lucy mumbled, a slight smile flickering across her face. She'd give the solid-script mage credit. She'd tried to join in with giving everyone a better mood, even if their attempts had failed miserably.

Natsu left then to go catch whatever he'd heard rustling around in the trees around them, and Gajeel fell into a brooding silence as he kept an eye out for anything that might attack them. The others - excluding Wendy and Levy, who'd chosen to get some rest while they could - fell into watching out for Gray, who was slowly but surely growing worse. The fever had increased enough that when Erza ordered him to try to use his magic, he was unable to. Juvia had even had to move away, the heat radiating from him turning her body into steam.

When Gray dropped his head into his hands, gasping, Erza made the decision to summon one of her swords. Lucy leaped to her feet after setting Happy beside Wendy and darted over, ignoring Cana's warning look. "Don't," she pleaded, "Not yet."

"He's going, Lucy," Cana said bluntly. "We don't have much of a choice."

"S'fine," Gray managed to choke out. He took a deep breath, and it sounded as if their was liquid in his chest. Lucy shuddered, remembering the illness that had taken her mother. "Do it. Before I go nuts. Would rather die now than later."

"No," Lucy protested, but Erza ignored her protest.

"Gajeel," Erza ordered. The iron dragon slayer glanced up, irritated with her for being bothered, then glanced at Gray. His gaze hardened and he stood, moving to wake Levy. He paused at Wendy, however.

"No," Levy said sleepily, stumbling to Lucy's side. "She doesn't need to see this. Where's Natsu? Has he come back yet?"

Lucy shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks in an endless stream, concern for the fire mage racing through her mind momentarily before she was focused on the situation at hand. "Wait," she pleaded, "He's not gone yet-"

Gray winced, tapping his head as he finally looked up. Lucy froze at the sight of his face, taking in the already changing eyes. She frowned. The disease was changing, moving faster in regards to the symptoms. Elfman hadn't shown the looks like this. "I can feel it, Lucy. It needs to be done."

Juvia gave a sob, burying her face in her hands, her expression one of pure misery. "J-Juvia doesn't w-want to say goodbye yet," she sobbed. "Juvia wanted...Juvia wanted to…" She trailed off, unable to finish, and everyone watched with various levels of surprised silence when Gray hooked an arm around her waist, tugging her closer. She knelt beside him, crying into her hands still as he mumbled something in her ear. Then he pushed her away, giving Erza a grim look and a nod.

Juvia watched with wide eyes as Erza's sword descended, and Lucy jerked her head around, silently screaming into her hands as Gray's head struck the forest floor only a few moments before his body did, blood pouring from both.

Levy stared blankly at the now lifeless body, her eyes completely void of tears. She'd run out of them earlier, when Lily had died. "Juvia?" she asked quietly. "What did he say?"

Juvia forced a smile to her face, though she looked as if she was barely holding it together. 'G-Gray will be waiting for Juvia," she whispered, holding the smile for only a moment before she was wailing into her hands, doubling over to scream into her knees.

And then Lucy hit the ground with a strangled scream, her heart no longer thudding a steady beat in her chest.

* * *

 _It killed me to write that last bit. ;-; I love Gray, he's one of my absolute favorites. Please don't hate me. ANYHOW! Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOO much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They are lovely things! Also, here's a fun thing: you're going to absolutely_ love _chapters twelve and thirteen. ;)_


	13. Chapter 12

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Time seemed to blur for the next couple of hours as Lucy faded in and out of consciousness. First she was face down on the ground, her screams of pain - which she somehow managed to produce around the fact that she couldn't breathe - muffled by the earth pressed against her face. Then she was being held down by Gajeel and Levy to keep her from thrashing about and hurting herself further as Wendy knelt over her, the young girl's face filled with fear. The third time she was aware of anything around her, Natsu was _finally_ there, his eyes wide with terror for her as his hands skimmed gently over her face, trying to coax her back into awareness. At one point, she thought she heard him pleading, _"Come on, Luce, not now, don't give up now,"_ but she wasn't sure.

When she opened her eyes the last time, she was fully aware of what was going on and the pain had died down into occasional stabs, the aftershocks of the original attack. She felt exhausted, as if she'd run in a race against Natsu, and was startled to find, of all people, Jellal kneeling over her, his brow drawn in concentration. She thought she could hear more people than she remembered murmuring behind him, but it came to a quick halt when Jellal muttered, "You're awake."

Natsu seemed to materialize beside him, searching her gaze and Lucy forced a faint smile to her face. "Guess so," she rasped. Memories of Gray's body hitting the ground had her eyes squeezing shut, tears threatening to fall again. She didn't want to see that again. Ever.

Jellal fell silent, gently prodding at her side, and Lucy winced. Natsu shot him a look, then mumbled, "You did it again, Luce."

She blinked in confusion. But then understanding raced through her and she hesitantly reached out to lace her fingers through his. "Sorry," she managed to slur out, tiredness sweeping over her in a tidal wave. "Didn' mean to."

"She needs rest, Natsu," Jellal said as he pulled back, lips pressed together in a hard line. "Food, too. Whatever's causing these attacks saps at her magic levels. You said her Celestial Spirits can't remain in this world for long?" The dragon slayer gave a curt nod. "That might be the reason why. If one was to come here of their own free will, it's likely they would be okay."

Lucy turned her gaze on him. Erza had to be glad that he was okay, she thought distantly, mind spinning. "I don't want them here," she mumbled out, "I don't want to risk it."

"You can't really stop them if they step out on their own accord, Lucy," Jellal answered bluntly before standing. Lucy took the chance to peer around him, as he'd been blocking her view of the others. She was shocked when she discovered none other than Lyon sitting near Happy, face in his hands, and Chelia seated a foot or so away from Wendy, black Marks lacing up her throat. Sympathy for Lyon filled her. He'd been so close to seeing Gray just one last time before the ice-make mage had been killed. "Anyways, get some sleep. Meredy," he called to the pink-haired woman, who'd been quietly speaking with Levy. "We need to go."

"What?" Erza seemed astonished, and Lucy realized that the requip mage had been expecting him to stay. "You're leaving?"

"I wouldn't recommend staying in such a large group," Jellal told her, glancing around. "Splitting off into pairs or smaller groups is better...they seem to like the challenge. The bigger the group, the better. I'm going to check on Sabertooth…"

"I want to go with you."

Erza's firm statement made him pause. He glanced back at her, and she glared at him, just daring him to say no. "...alright," he finally sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. "But nobody else."

Meredy smiled at Erza in a gentle manner. "You have the Marks, right?" Jellal shot both women a sharp look, and Meredy glared at him in response before shoving her cloak out of the way to show Erza the familiar black streaks racing up her arm. "You don't need to worry about staying away from me, at least. Jellal doesn't have them though."

"Understood," Erza said. Her gaze gleamed with a fierce light. But then she paused, looking back at her nakama. "Natsu," she ordered, narrowing her eyes at the dragon slayer, "Protect Lucy and Happy. I don't want either of them gone by the time I get back, is that clear?"

"Aye, sir," Natsu squeaked, and Lucy giggled breathlessly when his hand tightened around hers.

The trio bid them farewell and left.

Cana wrapped her arms around herself, looking lonely despite the fact that she sat beside Juvia. The water mage had long ago stopped speaking, and looked as if she was contemplating the idea of throwing herself into the fire that had been lit. Lucy grimaced at the thought. It didn't surprise her that Juvia was turning suicidal over Gray.

So it made the celestial mage feel a lot better when Lyon stood, moving to sit beside her. It took her a moment to realize that he, too, held the Marks. He leaned closer to murmur something to her, and Juvia looked up at him in surprise. The two began to talk quietly to each other, and it was then that Lucy realized Gajeel and Levy weren't there.

As if reading her mind, Natsu muttered, "Gajeel thought he heard something and went to go hunt it down. Levy went with him 'cause we don't think it's a good idea to go out alone. Hopefully it's actually food this time."

Lucy yawned, raising the hand that wasn't still holding his to rub at an eye. "What happened to that animal you smelled?"

"Jellal scared it off." Her lips twitched into a smile when he pouted. "Showed up just when I was about to grab it...we had to move camps," he added, gesturing the space around them. "Err, the blood was attracting the Marked to us."

Lucy's smile vanished, and she closed her eyes, wanting to cry. But the tears wouldn't come, and she made herself look up at Natsu with an expression on her face that had him frowning. "He's gone," she whispered. "Gray's gone. What are we going to do?" Her voice hitched, her voice becoming raw with pain. "Everyone's going to die at this rate, Natsu."

"I won't," he said fiercely, glaring down at her for even suggesting the idea. "And you aren't either. I'll protect you. Neither are Gajeel and Levy and Happy." Her heart twisted with grief when he failed to include those that were already Marked. "We'll be fine, Luce. Happy hasn't come up with anything from that attack earlier. Levy's looking into it to see if maybe the Exceeds can't get sick."

"It doesn't matter," Lucy mumbled, her voice soft enough that Natsu had to struggle to hear it despite his enhanced hearing.

They were all going to die. There was no doubt about it in Lucy's mind. And the idea of losing Natsu made her feel sick to her stomach. So when Gajeel returned with some kind of edible animal thrown over his shoulder, she didn't join in with the celebrating of a minor victory.

Instead, pretending she was asleep, she rolled onto her side, letting her hand slide out of Natsu's.

* * *

It was cold when she woke up, but at the same time, it was warm. Instinctively, Lucy snuggled closer into the warmth, sighing contently. There was a quiet mumble in her ear, and arms tightened around her as a nose buried itself in her hair, and Lucy was perfectly content for all of a few seconds before that suddenly hit her.

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself tucked against a familiar body. Her eyes locked momentarily on the strangely scaled scarf before her face flushed in embarrassment and anger. No wonder she was warm. She had a human torch pressed up against her! Happy had joined in, too, it appeared, curled up against her stomach between them.

Trying not to get too upset - she'd rather have him like this than dead - and ignoring the snickers she could hear coming from what sounded like Gajeel, the celestial mage tried to squirm out of his grip. But Natsu only tightened them again, frowning and grumbling in his sleep. Lucy had to give him credit; at least he'd finally decided to sleep. But she didn't appreciate the fact that he wasn't letting her get up.

Lucy gave up with a sigh, rolling her eyes as Gajeel's laughter grew. "Shut up, Gajeel," she hissed over the shoulder of the dragon slayer that was snuggled happily against her. Annoyed that he found her situation hilarious, she grumbled to herself, burying her face against Natsu's chest. As irritated as she was, she was also grateful. He'd kept the nightmares away, giving her a full night of rest that wasn't from being knocked out, and he _had_ kept the space around them fairly warm and clear of snow - which had decided to begin falling overnight.

"Great," Lucy muttered, making a face when something cold landed on her cheek before melting immediately.

Finally, the celestial mage grew tired of being crushed against Natsu and purposely kicked at his legs as hard as she could, squirming. "Natsu," she hissed, "Let go!"

His eyes sprang open and he was on his feet, flames bursting from his hands in an instant. He woke Happy, who sprang away with wide eyes, and Lucy swore, throwing her arms up in front of her face as she recoiled away from the searing heat that singed her. He took a moment to realize they weren't under attack, then dropped his fists, scowling. "Don't do that," he grumbled, flopping back down.

"Then let me go next time you decide to snuggle up," Lucy muttered, giving his legs another kick before climbing to her feet. She shivered when she was immediately met by cold. Gajeel was outright guffawing at them, his red eyes holding an evil glint that told Lucy that Levy would be finding out about this as soon as the solid-script mage was awake.

Pausing, rubbing her arms to try and fend off the cold, Lucy surveyed their group as she stepped over to the fire that Gajeel had kept going throughout the night. Wendy and Levy were curled up near each other, both looking peaceful. Lyon was close to Juvia, and her eyes softened; the ice-make mage had taken Gray's place to a certain degree, and she had the feeling Juvia would be relying heavily on him for the time being. Chelia was asleep off to the side, with Cana face down on the ground, her form trembling every now and then.

Lucy bit her lip, prodding at the fire with a spare stick. They needed to find shelter and hide out for a few days until they could get clothes that were sufficient for hanging around in the cold for more than a single night.

"Stop laughing," she gritted out at Gajeel, who had finally quieted down to the occasional chuckle. "Jerk."

He smirked. "Soon as Levy's awake, sure."

She moaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. At least he was in a good mood. He could have been giving her dirty looks.

She found it sad. It had taken them days upon days to get over the deaths of the first few that had gone. Now...they only had hours before they'd moved on. But they didn't have much of a choice. They had to, or risk losing their sanity more than they already were.

Thankful Gajeel's loud laughter hadn't woken anyone up, Lucy wrapped her arms around her legs, listening as Natsu mumbled apologies to Happy as the two made their way over to join her and Gajeel. He dropped down about a foot away from the celestial mage, staring at the fire longingly, as if he wanted to eat it. But he couldn't, as it was his own fire that had created it.

"Make it bigger," she pleaded, tightening her arms around herself. "It's cold."

"Huh," Gajeel snorted, eyeing her bare arms. "No wonder. Look at yourself."

"Shut up, please," Lucy said with false politeness, her gaze narrowed. Gajeel only smirked, just daring her to repeat the statement again with hardened red eyes. Natsu took notice and glowered until he stopped. "We need to get moving soon...Wendy and Levy are going to freeze to death out here," she muttered. _Me, too!_

It wasn't long before the others had begun to wake. The first awake was Wendy and Chelia, who went back to chatting quietly to each other, remaining a decent distance away from each other to avoid giving Wendy the disease...or whatever it was. Levy was next, and she didn't hesitate to seat herself close to Gajeel, nearly brushing against him as she smiled at the iron dragon slayer. He only glared at her with a huff, putting on an attitude that was just for show.

They were quickly joined by the others, excluding Cana, who decided to remain by herself off to the side. What was left of the hunted meat from last night was dished out by Levy. Those with the Marks were careful not to touch her as she handed over different sections, aware of the sharp look Gajeel gave them.

Lucy took Cana's portion from her and stood, aware of Natsu keeping an eye on her as she made her way over to the card mage. "Cana?" she asked soft, kneeling beside her. She held out the food. "Are you-"

The morning suddenly did a complete one-eighty when Cana sudden whirled on Lucy with a deep snarl. Lucy felt pain snap through her and her knees went out as Cana lunged forward, and she gave a scream when hands wrapped around her throat. Everyone was on their feet in an instant. Pushing past the pain, aware that it was harder to breathe than it usually was when the pain came, Lucy thrashed desperately to free herself, still screaming in surprise. Cana's hands seemed to morph as she grinned, digging in claws that had grown out of nowhere.

"Lucy!" Levy screamed, hands clasped over her mouth.

Natsu threw himself forward, only for Gajeel to slam a club of iron into his stomach, sending the fire dragon slayer to the ground. "Don't, she's been touched," he snarled.

It was Lyon and Juvia who came to the rescue. Lyon came barreling into Cana, sending her flying as he set to work on using his magic to deal with the problem that had suddenly arisen. Cana, or what had once been their friendly drunk, hissed between bared teeth, saliva splattering the snow around her. It melted immediately, actually turning black before disappearing into the earth.

Juvia threw herself down beside Lucy, gently checking the girl over. Lucy's eyes were wild with fear and pain and Juvia gently pressed a hand and over the wound on her neck, soothing her as pain wracked through the blonde's form. Lucy could barely hear her over the sound of her struggling heart pounding in her ears.

Just as Lyon managed to pierce through Cana's chest with a bird of ice, the pain slowed to a stop. Lucy moaned softly, raggedly dragging in air. Juvia murmured quietly to her, patting her cheek gently.

Natsu looked agonized as he stumbled over, ignoring Wendy's protested warning. He dropped to his knees beside her, careful not to touch her, and Lucy bit her lip, panting for breath. "Sorry," she rasped.

His hands trembled, flames flickering along his fingers in his rage. "How did we not notice?" he snarled out as Lyon made his way back over.

"It's not your fault, Natsu," Lyon murmured, shaking his head. "The wind was blowing in her direction and the snow should have dampered whatever would have reached your nose. You couldn't have noticed, no matter what you did."

"Juvia will help take care of Lucy," Juvia said firmly, smiling faintly at Natsu.

His hands clenched into fists as the celestial mage shoved herself into a sitting position. "We should have noticed," he growled, "She wasn't coming over. We should have _noticed_."

"Stop," Lucy rasped, shaking her head as she used Juvia to balance herself, her head spinning. Ripples of pain flashed through her again, increasing, and then faded fairly quickly. "There's nothing we can do to stop any of this Natsu. We'll just have to keep pushing forward, and we'll have to deal with it in the same manner we have been."

Natsu looked ready to murder someone, and she felt a flash of frustration when she realized she wouldn't be able to physically stop him if he actually tried to.

Regret filled her when she remembered how desperate she had been to get out of his arms earlier in the morning. She wouldn't be able to do that ever again. Tears rose to her eyes, but she forced them down. If she cried, Natsu would only get more upset and quite possibly go on a rampage like he'd done when news of Lisanna's death had reached him.

She glanced at Juvia, who smiled nervously before scurrying to Lyon's side to check on him, as if sensing Lucy's need to speak with Natsu in private. Making sure nobody was close enough to hear, Lucy smiled faintly at the dragon slayer, who, she realized with shock, had tears in his eyes. "Natsu," she said shakily, "Stop that, you're going to make _me_ cry."

"I said I'd protect you," he rasped, his head falling into his hand. "And now you're gonna get sick, too!"

"It's not your fault," she protested, but he snarled almost immediately, "It _is_! I should have noticed!"

Lucy threw her hands up in frustration. "Natsu, you can't do _everything_ , okay? I got touched, okay? My fault. I thought Cana was acting weird when she didn't come over, that's why I tried to take her food instead of Levy." Levy's head snapped around, her expression filling with guilt, and Lucy groaned. "Don't you start, Levy," she pleaded. "Gajeel-"

"Not your fault, shrimp," Gajeel confirmed, resting an elbow on her head and leaning on her. She nearly buckled under his weight, and tried to shove him off, her tears slowing as he purposely bugged her to distract her.

Lucy bit her lip, noting the tears rolling down Wendy's and Happy's cheeks as the two mourned what had happened. Her own began to finally fall when Natsu's did, and those left of Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail silently set to work on moving on moments later.

* * *

A few days later, they finally arrived at the town of Hargeon. Lucy swallowed thickly, trying not to think too much over the fact that the once lively port town that she and Natsu had met in was destroyed as well. They split into groups to search out any survivors, food, clothing, and shelter, and Lucy ended up going with Juvia though she longed to go with Happy and Natsu.

As they picked their way around, Lucy tried to ignore the twinges of pain that raced along her back. It had been happening since Cana's death, and she was aware that it was increasingly becoming worse. She'd contemplated asking Juvia or Chelia to inspect it since she couldn't ask Levy to, but hadn't wanted to stress Natsu out more than he already was.

Since the attack, Natsu had stuck as close to her as he could get without touching her. She knew her time was running out, as was Juvia's. The water mage had claimed that a headache was forming, and after Gray, they all knew what that meant. Chelia, too. And Lucy had a feeling that it would fall on Lyon to take care of them when the time came, because there was no way she'd be able to.

She'd had two more attacks since Cana's death. Both hadn't been nearly as bad as some of the attacks she'd had, but they were still painful enough that they drove the air straight out of her. When they'd happened, Natsu had been right beside her, listening intently to make sure her heart didn't stop.

"Juvia found something."

Shaking her head, Lucy forced herself to focus on what Juvia was saying. "What'd you find?" She tried to tug her fingers through her disgusting hair with a grimace. She wanted a bath. _Desperately_. Trudging through the good foot or so of snow, she made her way to Juvia's side as the other woman prodded at something buried. Tugging the coat that she'd found earlier tighter around her, she joined in unburying it.

It turned out to be the best thing they'd seen in a while. Juvia beamed in pride as she and Lucy descended into a now unsealed cellar, checking out the darkness inside with care. Who knew where the Marked where could be hiding. But they weren't inside, and Juvia exchanged excited glances with Lucy as she ran her fingers along a large bed. "This must have been an apprentice's quarters," Lucy mused.

"Juvia will go find the others," Juvia said excitedly. "You stay here." She darted back up the steps they'd descended into the cellar from, leaving Lucy alone. Slightly unnerved by the fact, Lucy decided to skim over the books that lined a large bookshelf. Levy would _love_ this. Just the night before, she'd been complaining about the fact that she missed reading.

Her fingers plucked a book from the shelf and she opened it, taking in the words with a soft smile appearing on her face. It was a book of fairytales for people to enjoy. She closed it. She'd read it aloud to everyone after they'd eaten some food, which she quickly discovered in a corner. Grateful that there were some slabs of dried meat for them to enjoy, courtesy of the beautiful cellar that she hoped they'd use as a base, Lucy settled down to wait, thoughts running wild.

All of her silver keys were gone, and she couldn't figure out how they'd done so. She hadn't summoned them. Only Chelia was aware of this fact, as she'd been the only one to notice. She'd suggested that maybe the marks had burned away their power, but Lucy hadn't been so sure. She believed they'd tried to step out on their own. Even little Plue.

Reading her thoughts, Loke's key warmed, and she shook her head. No. She wouldn't summon him. She missed the flirtatious lion now, and longed to seek his advice about matters she didn't dare speak to Natsu about. She knew that her Celestial Spirits would sense something different about her, and she felt a flash of grief over the fact that she wouldn't be able to see them again.

"This is awesome!"

Lucy's head snapped up and an affectionate smile appeared on her face when Natsu and Happy swung down into the cellar. Why did it not surprise her that he was the first there? Happy flew over to sit on the bed beside her, leaning against her and Lucy smiled warmly at him.

Levy had announced just two days ago that the Exceeds were incapable of acquiring whatever they as humans were dealing with, so Happy had taken it upon himself to physically comfort her in the fire dragon slayer's place.

Pulling him into her lap, Lucy giggled as Natsu took notice of the meat. "Don't touch that," she scolded, "You have to wait until the others get here so we can split it evenly, okay?"

Natsu stuck his tongue out at her, tugging impatiently at his scaled scarf. "I'm hungry," he whined with a pout.

"Well you can wait." Lucy rolled her eyes, patting the book beside her happily. "I found a book for us all to enjoy tonight. I figure Levy or I could read it aloud...though Gajeel might not let us."

Natsu snorted. "He will if Levy reads." Lucy hummed her agreement, her gaze saddening as he watched him explore the cellar, pretending he didn't notice when Lyon, Wendy, and Chelia ducked inside, followed by Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia. Juvia closed the cellar doors, and locked it behind them.

"We'll be safe here for the night," Levy decided agreeing with what Juvia had thought when she'd discovered it. Her eyes landed on Lucy and then what was beside her. "Is that-"

"Yeah," Lucy laughed, tossing it to her. She caught it with ease, hopping up and down in joy as she flipped through pages. "An unharmed book. I figured you or I could read it aloud tonight."

"Yay!" Levy cheered, then became serious. "But before we do that...I think all of us need to sit down. I figured out some things while Gajeel and I were checking out the dock, and I don't know how none of us figured it out...it's about you, Lucy."

"That's reassuring," she muttered, joining the circle that was being formed on the wooden floor. She sat between Natsu - who kept a decent distance away - and Juvia, who she had become even closer to in the last few days, Happy still balanced in her lap. "Speak, Levy. What'd you figure out?"

Levy adjusted the scarf she was now wearing, glancing at Gajeel before answering. "First, it's about your attacks. It's so obvious, even _Natsu_ should have noticed." Natsu shot her a small glare for that. "Your attacks happen when one of us turns into one of the Marked completely, like when Cana did, or when one of us dies. Think about it," she insisted at the uncertain look Lucy wore. "When Gray died, you had one. When Lily died, you had one. When Cana died, it wasn't as bad, but you had one."

Wendy frowned. "It sounds right," she said quietly.

"It does," Natsu admitted. "When we were checking out Blue Pegasus, Laxus and Gramps got it and died along with half the guild."

"It was too much, so you passed out," Levy finished. "Your attacks are because of the curse that was placed on you by that thing." She was apparently moving onto her next subject, and she smiled broadly. "Lucy, you can't get the Marks. Look at yourself. Seriously. Look at your skin. _You don't have any Marks._ "

Lucy blinked, taking that in for a moment. She didn't have time to check herself, however, as Natsu was suddenly there, ignoring her shriek of surprise and protest when he ripped her coat open, studying the fading bruises Cana had left. A huge grin spread across his face and before Lucy could say a single word, he had suddenly crushed his lips against hers in a fierce and loving kiss.

Silence filled the room.

And then all of the females began to squeal happily, particularly Levy, who gave a shrieked, "About time, you idiot!"

Gajeel, who winced at the loud noise, and Lyon exchanged slightly disgusted expressions, though the ice-make mage wasn't blind to the way that Gajeel shifted closer to Levy. Happy snickered, muttering a "Told you he likes her." under his breath.

Lucy's cheeks were flushed a brilliant red when the dragon slayer pulled back, his onyx eyes sparkling happily, a mischievous look on his face.

For the first time in a long time, it didn't hurt when her heart skipped a beat.

* * *

 _So there's an apology for all of the despair I've caused at the end. :D And congrats to Kinsutenekochan for guessing right in regards to when Lucy has her little moments! I want to thank all of you reviewers (BlessYourStar21, tkitty23, OgaxHilda, Gothazon, dogsrcool5, WordsWithoutFriends, Sanspree, Risshu, and Kinsutenekochan), as well as all those have favorited and followed so far! I hope you're ready for more misery. This is far from over! *evil laughter*_


	14. Chapter 13

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Lucy shivered as she leaned into Natsu's warmth. Even he looked slightly chilled as they surveyed the destroyed town, grimacing at the destruction. Hargeon didn't look any better than it had when they'd gone to sleep the night before. In fact, it looked even worse, and Lucy had the dark feeling that the Marked had sought them out the night before. Natsu wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she shot him a grateful look.

No wonder Happy had kept between the two the previous night, similar to the day that Cana had died. They'd had shelter, but it had still been freezing cold. His small form must have gotten colder than hers had, even pressed up against the over-heated dragon slayer.

Her breath came out in a small cloud of air and her back twinged with a faint pain. She grimaced. That would be the mark - almost three-quarters of the way filled out - fighting off the disease and keeping it dormant. Or that's what Levy had thought the pain and the strange shimmering of light radiating from the mark meant. She'd decided the solid-script mage was right.

The keys at her hip seared at her hand when she brushed against them while pressing her cold hands against Natsu, and she winced. _Sorry, guys, I can't._

"Luce?" Natsu muttered the words in her ear. "You okay?"

"It's cold," she admitted. "And it's going to get colder...we need to set up a fire tonight, or find a properly sealed area to rest in."

Natsu grunted in response and tightened his grip around her. Lucy sighed. The guy had been semi-clingy, refusing to move more than a foot away from her, but she couldn't blame him. She would have been the same way if she thought he was going to die...scratch that. She was just as bad. She'd missed the contact.

"Hey, love-birds," Chelia called as she strode down the street. Her gaze was dark, her eyes serious, and Lucy was startled to discover that her eyes were a mixture of black and red. "We have an issue."

"I can see that," Natsu grumbled, pushing his way between her and Lucy. He watched her suspiciously.

"It's time for you and Juvia," Lucy realized, her voice barely audible. Chelia heard her somehow, however, wincing in pain, and tears gathered in Lucy's eyes. She didn't want to lose either of them, but especially not the water mage. Juvia had just started returning to normal, though she'd been far more quiet without Gray to obsess over. "Okay. We're coming." She moved to step forward, but Natsu didn't, and she glanced at him. "Natsu?"

He shook his head. "We're not," he said tensely.

Anger flashed through her. "What do you mean we're not going?" She tugged sharply on his arm after shrugging it off of her. "We have to, Natsu. Come on, why are you-" She cut off...or was actually cut off by a hand slapping over her mouth, shushing her.

"We need to get out of town," he growled. "Now." His gaze darted this way and that, searching the town around them. His gaze locked onto some motion behind a barely standing building and he swore, shoving her forward. "Go. Now. Chelia, watch our backs."

"Of course," she said seriously. The girl, only about Wendy's age, readied her Sky God's Bellow, ready to defend the two if anything came after them. Lucy felt a flash of guilt for using the young girl as a shield, but she didn't seem to mind, instead flashing Lucy a quick smile before Natsu jerked her forward.

They ran through the streets of what had once been Hargeon, and then skidded to a halt when they turned a corner, only to nearly run straight into a pair of Marked ones. The creatures screeched in excitement and lunged forwards, but Natsu put a stop to them by inhaling sharply and using his Fire Dragon's Roar to incinerate them.

Lucy's hand tightened around his, and she cringed when Chelia stopped to fire an attack behind them, a snarl leaving her lips as she dared the Marked to chase after them. She paused to glance over her shoulder. "Go," she ordered, smiling. "Tell Wendy I said bye, okay?"

Lucy didn't have a chance to respond, as Natsu jerked her around a corner.

Tears build in her eyes as they ran. Her breath became labored as their feet pounded on the ground, and Natsu swore when she tripped, nearly dragging both of them to the ground. "Come _on_ , Luce!" he called over his shoulder impatiently. "We're almost there!"

Someone staggered into their path, however, and Lucy's face paled the second she realized who it was. Lyon was glaring at them through red-black eyes, his lips pulling into an unnaturally wide grin. Ice formed around him, making the ground beneath their feet slick, and Natsu left flames envelop not only him, but Lucy, too. "They won't burn you," he reassured, releasing her and pushing her back a few steps. "Where's Happy?" he muttered under his breath, gaze darting back and forth as he tried to find a way around Lyon.

Lucy felt numb. How had Lyon changed so soon, too?

That stopped when something suddenly rose from the ice, towering above them with roar. Lucy gave a cry as the dragon shook its icy head before lunging for them, jaws gaping wide. Natsu gathered up his breath and then used another Fire Dragon's Roar, this one far more powerful than the one he'd used not too long ago. It engulfed the ice dragon, and Lyon gave a roar of rage. Lucy shuddered at the strange sound, which sounded as if it was a cross between a scream and a bellow.

Why hadn't she felt these? she thought as Natsu shoved her forward, both of them diving forward to try and get around him. Why hadn't she had an attack? Lyon whirled around to try and follow them, preparing another attack, but was stopped when a wave of water rushed over him. Juvia materialized between him and the two other Fairy Tail members.

"Juvia will deal with this," she murmured, wincing in pain. "Go. Juvia knows that Wendy is alone and will need help."

"Thank you," Lucy whispered before taking off, Natsu close behind. They fled through the streets, Lucy struggling to keep up with dragon slayer, who had far more stamina than she did. Suddenly, she collided head on into something hard, and she shrieked in pain and surprise when she was sent sprawling. Natsu tripped over her, landing flat on his face, and he barely had a chance to catch his breath before he was rolling out of the way to avoid an iron chainsaw that descended upon him.

"GAJEEL!" Lucy screamed as it turned on her, "STOP! WE'RE OKAY!"

The chainsaw stopped just seconds before beheading her. She swallowed nervously, shaking violently when it pulled back, revealing a wary Gajeel. He had jerked Levy out of the way and was holding her in the air by the back of her shirt despite her desperate attempts to get free. Hiding behind him was a terrified looking Wendy. "Damn it, Bunny Girl," Gajeel snarled, "Be careful!"

Gasping, head spinning as she tried to catch her breath, Lucy was caught unprepared when the pain suddenly ripped through her violently. Natsu scrambled over when she choked, trying to inhale but unable to. "Lucy!"

Wendy threw herself down beside them, face serious as she concentrated on trying to stop the attack. But it did no good, and Natsu swore when her heart stopped momentarily in her chest. "C'mon, fight it!" he shouted in her ear, "You can't do this now, Luce!"

She only groaned in response.

A roar filled the air, and Lucy watched through blurred vision as a massive wave of water rose up, meeting an equally huge dragon made of ice when it tried to swing its tail around to crush the surrounding area. Juvia was trying to save them, but was going to kill them in the process! Levy screamed in fear, and Gajeel swore, realizing his chainsaw of iron would do nothing against what was about to happen.

Hands trembling, Lucy did the only thing she could think of. Ignoring the pain that raced through her, she reached for her keys, screaming in her mind for the help of the three she had in mind. "A-Aquarius," she wheezed, "Scorpio. G-Gemini." The fire burned hotter in her veins as the three Celestial Spirits appeared.

"Lucy," Wendy cried, as her vision went dark. She was barely aware of what was going around her, and she reached out to grab at Natsu to keep herself awake. His blunt nails dug into her arm, and she smiled faintly.

For once, Aquarius didn't immediately start screaming at her. Instead, the usually annoyed Celestial Spirit took one look at Lucy and gently touched her cheek before focusing on the task at hand, Scorpio joining her along with Gemini, who transformed so that there were two versions of Aquarius there. None of them got a word in before Juvia's wave of water struck them. Levy cringed against Gajeel, who protectively stood between her and the water, and Wendy cowered, holding tightly onto Lucy's arm. Between the three of the Celestial Spirits, they managed to keep the water at bay, making sure that none of the Fairy Tail mages were touched by a single drop.

All three disappeared the second the water retracted, rushing back in Juvia's direction. Lucy felt their keys turn to dust in her fingers, and she gave a weak sob at the thought.

The second they were safe, Wendy went back to work, explaining in a hurried tone, "I'm going to share some of my magic energy...I figured out how just before all of this began."

"Do it," Natsu said firmly, his voice echoing in Lucy's ears. A hiss filled the air, and he gave a groan. The Marked had found them. "We'll keep the Marked off of you. Hurry though."

"I'll try," Wendy promised.

The next few minutes swirled together in a confused blur, but the next thing she knew, Lucy was opening her eyes in time to see Gajeel's Iron Dragon's Roar exploding into existence just a foot or so above her head. She shrieked, rolling over and covering her head, and Wendy launched herself into battle alongside their friends, using her own Sky Dragon's Roar to keep the waves of Marked that had begun to attack away.

"Happy!" Natsu roared over the fighting. Lucy realized the Exceed had finally appeared, and was soaring around, unsure of what to do. "Get Lucy out of here!"

"Aye, sir!" He dived down, grabbing the celestial mage and lifting her to safety. One of the Marked threw itself into the air to try and grab them, but Levy stopped that with a blast of flames from her solid-script magic. He dropped her onto the roof of a building that was still standing and Lucy scrabbled at the tiles on the roof to keep from sliding off. It was then she realized that it was as far as Happy was capable of going. He was heaving for breath, and her eyes widened as she took in the massive wound on his small back. "Happy?!"

Happy gave her a smile. "I'm okay," he told her.

Lucy realized why it wasn't okay for Natsu when she was in the midst of an attack. "It's not okay!" she cried, trying to scoop him up but nearly sliding off of the roof because of it. Instead, she grabbed his tail and dragged him to her, cradling him carefully. "H-hold on, Wendy'll help you, okay?"

"Aye," he said faintly.

A hiss filled her ears, and the exhausted blonde woman whipped her head around in time to discover a grinning Juvia hopping onto the roof with ease. Her eyes were a red-black, and the Marks seemed to ripple and shift as she slid closer, stepping on dainty feet. Lucy felt a flash of annoyance. That meant she had another attack incoming, not that she knew when. "J-Juvia," she tried to get out, trying to convince the water mage to hold on for a bit longer. But she knew deep in her heart that Juvia was gone.

Juvia smiled charmingly - or it would have been charming if her teeth hadn't already turned into sharp fangs that dripped black drool down her chin. Suddenly, she lunged forward, cackling, and Lucy screamed as Juvia slammed through what she'd been using to hold onto the roof. Her grip slipping, Lucy rolled straight for the edge of the roof, barely managing to grab the gutter before she fell three stories. "Happy!" she screamed, terror filling her when she saw the terrified blue cat in Juvia's hands.

Another piercing scream left her lips when she could do nothing but watch as Juvia ripped the Exceed's head from his body, not even giving him a chance to speak. Juvia carelessly tossed the body and head away, swiping the blood off on her torn clothing, then grinned, stepping forward.

Lucy let go of the gutter. A third scream escaped her as she tumbled through the air, but just as she'd hoped, familiar strong arms caught her, driving the breath out of her when both she and Natsu hit the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" he gasped. She didn't answer, shaking too badly to stammer out something that he would understand.

His answer came in the form of Juvia hitting the ground in front of them as a puddle of water. As she reformed, Natsu reeled backwards, and Juvia's red-black eyes gleamed hatefully as she tilted her head, letting her blue hair spill over one shoulder. A malicious grin spread across her face as Gajeel and Levy realized what was going on, and Gajeel groaned. "Are you fucking _kidding_ me? C'mon, water woman, you couldn't wait until _after_ we're done here?"

"Levy," Natsu whirled around, placing Lucy gently on her feet before pushing her at the solid-script mage and Wendy. Levy caught her when she tripped, and Lucy gave a ragged sob, her vision blurred by tears and the memory of Juvia killing Happy over and over again. "Watch her. Wendy, protect them."

It was then that Lucy realized Natsu didn't expect to come out of this alive.

"Natsu," she wheezed, lunging forward to try and at least squeeze his hand, but Levy kept her back, tears falling down her own face. Lucy blinked, gaze snapping to Gajeel, who'd grimly let the chainsaw reappear on his arm. She noticed his red eyes darting back to Levy every now and then, and saw how the solid-script mage's eyes flashed with terror for him.

So it was that way then. And they hadn't even gotten to tell anyone.

Suddenly, Levy said sharply, "No. I'm helping. Wendy, stay with Lucy." Ignoring Gajeel's growl of protest, she stepped forward to stand beside him, ignoring his look when she lightly touched his hand with hers. Grumbling, he let her slip her hand into his, giving it a gentle squeeze before focusing on the situation beforehand.

Natsu didn't seem to notice, and let flames flicker to life along his fingers. Just as they were preparing to attack, however, Juvia struck first. Water shot into the air around her and she beamed as she struck at Natsu.

Lucy opened her mouth to give a cry, but then blinked when someone jumped between Natsu and the attack. Excitement filled her. "Erza!"

The red-haired woman spared Lucy a small smile, lowering the shield. "Gajeel!" she cried, "On your right!"

He ducked to avoid another blow, and then grinned when his nose told him something. "Hey, Salamander!" he hollered. "Get Bunny Girl and the little dragon slayer out of here! We got this!"

Even as he spoke, someone seemed to rise out of the shadows. Rogue gave Natsu a nod as he joined the fight, easily jerking his head aside to avoid a blow, his hand becoming surrounded by black as he prepared an attack. "Sting will help you," the shadow dragon slayer murmured.

As if hearing his name, the blonde mage appeared behind Lucy and Wendy with a grin on his face as he threw an arm around Lucy's shoulder. "C'mon. You, too, Natsu! Erza! Those three got it. We need to get to Jellal and Yukino. I think Gildarts is-"

Sting hadn't even finished his statement before a wall blew out nearby and a fairly pissed off looking Gildarts appeared, heading straight for Juvia. Gajeel, as if sensing the danger in Gildarts' anger, grabbed Levy and hauled her back, out of the way. Natsu finally moved over, Erza guarding his back when the Marked moved to follow.

Lucy reached out and grabbed his wrist, relieved when he didn't protest. He frowned when her hand shook against him, but said nothing, instead turning his gaze on Sting. "Where'd you guys come from? Kinda glad you did…"

"Not now, Natsu," Erza warned, a heavy sword dropping into her hand as she swung towards one of the Marked. She grimaced when blood splattered the wall they had begun sneaking beside. "We will speak later."

"Aye!" he squeaked. Lucy gave a choked laugh, and he slid her between him and the wall, carefully tucking her against his side to protect her from the onslaught of the Marked. She sobbed, stumbling every now and then as she fought to keep up with him and their friends. Sting covered them, doing the same to Wendy, who whimpered, ready to fire a Sky Dragon's Roar if needed.

"Where are we going?" Natsu called out to either of them.

"I told you," Sting shouted back, "We're going to - oh, damn it all to _hell_." He groaned as a pack of the Marked rounded the corner. Pushing Wendy ahead a few steps, he inhaled sharply, then bellowed out his White Dragon's Holy Breath, turning all of them into a gory mess of blood, flesh, and bones.

Wendy looked sick as she latched onto Lucy's torn sleeve. Lucy stared at the mess before tripping as Natsu pulled her forward, shielding her from rubble that came flying when Gildarts did something back in the direction they'd come from.

"We're going to Jellal and Yukino," Sting finished. "They're on the outskirts of Hargeon...Yukino and Jellal have the Marks, don't touch them." He flashed a faint grin when Wendy gave him a nervous look. "Don't worry. Rogue and I are fine. Neither of us have them. But we're the last of Sabertooth…"

"These are the last of anyone anywhere," Erza added grimly. She dared to flash a look back at them, her gaze dark. "We are the last survivors in all of Fiore. I am uncertain of how Jellal did such a check so quickly, but it's true."

Just as Erza finished her statement, Lucy tripped and was unable to get up as searing pain ripped through her. She gave a cry and Natsu groaned, dropping to his knees beside her. "Lucy," he pleaded, "C'mon, we're almost out!"

Lucy's body tensed under his touch when he simply scooped her up and she gave a small shriek of pain when his hands skimmed her back. Erza's eyes were wide while Sting looked right out confused. "Keep going," she heard Natsu snap, "I've got her."

 _"Hold on, Luce,"_ she thought she heard him whisper into her ear as he walked quickly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. _"Just hold on."_

Somehow, around the pain of her heart no longer beating in her chest and her lungs refusing to allow her to breathe, around the pain of the acid that raced through her from head to toe, she felt him press a light kiss to her lips, too.

It seemed like forever before it stopped and she was finally able to gulp down air. Weakly, she tried tugging at Natsu's scarf to convince him to put her down, but he was having none of it, ignoring her demands as he jogged along behind the quickly moving Erza. "Natsu," she groaned in annoyance, but gave up, resting her head against his shoulder and letting her eyes flutter shut. She was so _tired_...but something told her that falling asleep now wasn't a good idea.

"Jellal!" Erza's shout had her eyes snapping open, and she grimaced as an aftershock of pain rippled through her. She took in where they were, confused. She'd just closed her eyes for a second, yet they were out of Hargeon now…

The man glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes darkened as he took in their ragged little group. "Who's gone?"

"Juvia, Lyon, Chelia," Erza listed quickly, voice serious. "Rogue, Gajeel, Levy, and Gildarts are dealing with Juvia as we speak."

"Where's Happy?" Natsu demanded, his grip around Lucy tightening. "He's still out there, too."

Tears pricked Lucy's eyes at the reminder and she gave a hoarse sob, burying her face in her hands. "Dead," she choked out, struggling to get the words out when Natsu turned his confused onyx eyes on her. "They…they know they can't infect the Exceeds. Sh-she ripped him apart."

"What?" Natsu breathed, eyes widening.

Wendy changed the subject quickly, her eyes frantic. "What about the others? They need to get out of there, too-"

"Err, hate to interrupt," Sting said suddenly, his eyes taking in something in the distance. "But we need to get our asses to high ground. _Now._ "

Natsu's head snapped around and he swore before pushing Wendy towards Sting. "Get her to safety," he ordered seriously. Sting nodded, throwing Wendy over his shoulder, and Jellal pushed Erza and Yukino towards trees.

"Climb," Jellal ordered grimly, even as the roar of rushing water filled the air.

"The others," Lucy gasped as Natsu sprang lightly up onto the lowest branches. Lucy finally caught a glimpse of what had sent everyone into a panic and felt the blood leave her face. A massive tidal wave, was roaring their way, washing everything away with it. "Juvia," she breathed, then yelped in pain when it returned full force. Natsu cast her a panicked look but forced himself to ignore it in favor of scrambling up the tree as fast as he could.

He reached the uppermost branches just as the water crashed through the area below them. The tree shuddered, but Lucy felt nothing, her eyes staring blankly into nothing. Panicked, Natsu shook her. "Lucy!" he shouted over the roaring water. When he received no response, he crushed her to him, burying his face in her hair with a soft sound of terror for her.

Suddenly, however, she was gasping desperately in his ear and he groaned in relief, refusing to let up on his tight grip. She returned it after a few seconds, though she wasn't able to hold on as tightly as he was. The water continued rushing by beneath them, but neither seemed to notice, to intent on the comfort each was trying to offer to the other.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the roar faded to nothing and Natsu pulled back to peer down at the ground beneath them. It was as if there had been no water at all, and with care, he dropped out of the tree, careful not to jostle the exhausted celestial mage too much. They were quickly joined by the others. "Is she okay?" Yukino asked softly upon seeing the limp woman in his arms.

"Yeah," Lucy answered for herself with a groan. "Just...want to...sleep."

"Not yet," Natsu muttered, glancing around. "Don't sleep yet, it's not entirely safe."

Wendy hugged herself upon being set down by Sting. The younger girl looked absolutely terrified as she whispered, "They were all down there...do you think they're okay?"

"I don't know," Jellal said with pursed lips. "Erza and I will go and check the area out...stay here." Without another word, he glanced at Erza and jerked his head in the direction of what was left of Hargeon. She followed him as he started off, and soon, both were gone.

"Natsu," Wendy said shakily, "Put L-Lucy down. "I'm going to give her some more energy again-"

"No," Lucy slurred out, trying to protest as Natsu did as he was told, looking worried. "I don't want to. I just need some sleep…" But her words were ignored as Wendy set to work, and within moments, she was able to keep her eyes open with ease. "Wendy, stop," she said firmly when Wendy began to tremble, exhausted from sharing so much energy with her. "You need to keep some for yourself."

"I'm...okay…" Wendy tipped forward, landing on her, and Lucy winced. Sting carefully pulled her off of the celestial mage, checking her pulse.

"She'll be okay," he reassured. "She just needs some rest. Lucy, too."

Lucy carefully sat up with Natsu's assistance, leaning against him with a blank look on her face. They'd lost so many, she realized, turning her face into Natsu's shoulder. He lifted a hand to gently run his fingers through her messy hair, carefully untangling it. Juvia, Lyon, Chelia, Happy...all four were gone in a matter of minutes.

Suddenly, Natsu's shoulders began to shake. A choked sound escaped him and his forehead dropped to rest on her shoulder. Salty tears dripped into her lap, and he gave a sob. Lucy's eyes softened, and she gently wrapped her arms around him. This time, it was her running her fingers through his hair, soothing him as he sobbed brokenly into her shoulder, his arms wrapping around her as if he was scared she would disappear.

Sting said nothing, only kept an eye and ear out for any of the Marked that might decide to come out of nowhere and attack them while they were weak, and Yukino copied.

"Sh," Lucy soothed, her own voice trembling even as she attempted to make it not. She didn't bother trying to tell him that everything would be okay. As if _anything_ would be okay now. "I-I know it sucks, and I miss them, too, b-but we have to...we have to keep…" Her voice cracked, and she buried her face in his salmon-colored hair. Was there even a point in continuing to try? They were all going to die. Every single one of them.

Why bother?

A heat at her hip that burned her through her clothing corrected her thoughts almost immediately.

 _No._ She couldn't give up. She couldn't give up now, when there were still people unmarked and in need of them to keep trying. The tears that had threatened to fall dried, and she pressed her lips into a hard line, tightening her grip around the shuddering dragon slayer. "We have to keep going, Natsu," she murmured to him. "We can grieve after it's over. Okay?"

"Y-yeah," he managed to get out, not moving for a moment. Finally, he pulled back and Lucy pressed a hand gently to his cheek, searching his onyx eyes for a moment before shoving herself to her feet. He followed suit, and they moved to stand beside Sting.

Sting, pretending as if he hadn't seen the scene that had just occurred as Natsu wiped the last of the tears away, growled, "Nothing yet. They should be coming back soon though. I'm warning you, from the strength of that wave…" He shook his head. "I don't think it's likely any of them survived."

"Shut up, please," Yukino replied.

The four mages fell into silence, and Lucy glanced down at the unconscious Wendy every now and then to check on her. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Natsu straightened. "They're back," he said, voice raspy from crying.

Even as he spoke, their group of friends appeared. Lucy skimmed through them quickly, heart sinking when she realized Gajeel and Rogue were soaking wet. Levy walked quietly beside Gajeel, gingerly holding her arm, which had been twisted in a weird way, and the iron dragon slayer kept a close eye on her as they made their way over. Lucy took note of the limp he had before turning her attention on Rogue, who was pressing a hand against a nasty looking gash on his cheek. Blood was leaking from between his fingers, and he looked serious as he spoke.

"Gildarts is dead."

"...what?" Lucy looked astonished. "How? He was the strongest in Fairy Tail...he might have overpowered Master…"

"He had the Marks," Erza said quietly after she'd requipped back into her usual armor. Lucy's eyes widened as she took in the Marks that covered her face. She hadn't noticed until now, too busy focusing on staying alive. "He knew he would be going soon. He allowed Juvia to kill him just before Gajeel was able to deliver the ending blow as we arrived."

"We have the Marks now," Gajeel said gruffly, showing his arm. "I had to touch her when I killed her and _he_ -" he paused to jerk his head in Rogue's direction, "- was caught from behind by her when she turned into water."

Levy sniffled, grimacing in pain as she gazed mournfully at Lucy. Lucy tensed when she caught sight of just a faint black beneath her wild bangs, and she realized that nobody but she and Levy knew that the solid-script mage had the Marks, too. The dragon slayers should have been able to notice, but her scent was masked by so many others with the Marks.

Lucy shook her head hopelessly.

Her Celestial Spirits wanted her to keep trying, and she agreed. They had to keep going and see if they could survive this.

But honestly?

She didn't think they would.

* * *

 _I apologize for any mistakes, I haven't been able to properly communicate with my editor about this fanfic in a while. :3 Told you you'd like this chapter, yes? I know, I know, horrible stuff is happening. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter (BlessYourStar21, LegendaryWolf129, Kinsutenekochan, Shattered-Nightmares712, and Gothazon) along with those who favorited and followed!_


	15. Chapter 14

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

 _ ***WARNING: This chapter contains suicide.**_

* * *

Lucy watched from her place beside her personal heater as Wendy tried to tend to Levy's arm, her elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm. She was glad Gajeel had cut down a massive tree for them to sit on...sitting on the snowy ground didn't seem too fun. Levy was refusing to allow Wendy near her, however, and the young girl was at a loss as to why.

"I want to make sure Gajeel's wounds are taken care of first," Levy was trying to insist, ignoring her badly twisted arm in favor of trying to check on Gajeel. But the iron dragon slayer was having none of it, growling at her as he kept stepping away to avoid her touch. She huffed impatiently. "Gajeel!"

"You're going to get the Marks!" he snapped.

"Oh, for the love of- _I already have them_!" Levy shoved her hair out of her face, purposely standing on her tip-toes and getting in Gajeel's face. Or, at least, she tried to, the height difference making it seriously difficult. Nevertheless, her goal was accomplished, and Gajeel swore when he saw the single streak of black beginning its course down her face. "Now. Give me those," she muttered, snatching a roll of bandages they'd managed to scavenge from a building on the outskirts of Hargeon. "Sit down, shut up, and let me do this, because we need to get moving and I can handle walking with an injured arm. You can't walk for too long with an injured leg."

Gajeel glared at her, then huffed and simply dropped down to sit in the snow. Levy shivered in her coat as she knelt beside him, ignoring the piercing furious glare he gave her. "You're such a child," she muttered to him.

"You're a shrimp," he fired back, pissed off about the fact that she'd won over the matter and that she had the Marks.

With a sigh, Levy paused. She set down the bandages she'd had in her hands, ignoring Gajeel's sputtering of surprise as she grabbed his cheeks and held him in place so she could gently press her lips against his. His glares vanished, replaced by a shocked expression, and she beamed at him. "Good. Now stay quiet."

Sting watched with a slight amount of amusement before returning to searching the area for any sign of Yukino. The celestial mage, who Lucy had learned had also lost her keys, had disappeared overnight, somehow escaping the notice of Natsu, who'd been on guard while the rest of them slept.

"So let's clear this up," Sting said as he looked around them. "These little painful moments of Lucy's mean someone's changed into one of the Marked completely or have died."

"Yep," Lucy said dully. "Which means the second I have one, we either need to be careful or mourn whoever's dead." Natsu pressed lightly against her and she leaned into him in return. The dragon slayer hadn't said a single word since she'd woken up, but she was glad he was there, still willing to let her at least be around him.

It was, after all, her fault Happy was dead.

"Okay…" Sting frowned, eyes darting to the quiet Rogue for a moment. "So...what are we doing about those that change? These guys are going to be changing eventually," he added, waving towards the five ones in their group with the Marks.

Jellal gave a wry little smile from where he was quietly seated beside Erza on the opposite end of the log that Lucy and Natsu were on. "It's obvious, isn't it? One of you has to kill us."

"Not right now," Levy said hastily when Wendy's eyes filled with tears. "When we get close to turning...we can feel it when it's going to happen. You get this huge headache and a really bad fever if you're really fighting it." She gently prodded at the wound on Gajeel's leg, then set to work on cleaning it out with a little bit of alcohol they'd found. The murderous look on his face as she did so had Lucy flinching, and Natsu tossed an arm around her shoulders, watching them carefully.

"Great," Rogue sighed, not looking the least bit enthusiastic about the matter at all.

"Um," Wendy said softly, moving to tug lightly at Sting's arm. He glanced down curiously. "C-can I ask what happened to Lector and Frosch?"

Sting tensed, and Rogue's gaze darkened hatefully as he glared at the youngest dragon slayer. Wendy flinched at his look, but didn't back off, instead turning her curious look on Sting. Sting didn't answer for a few moments, but then he finally murmured, "They were killed by the Marked when they attacked our guildhall."

"Charle, too," Wendy mumbled softly. "And Lily, and now Happy. I guess they don't like Exceeds then."

Lucy's gaze darkened at this and she straightened. "They went after all of them...maybe there was something about them that frightened them or something like that? The first one Juvia went after was Happy. It was only after he was gone that she came after me."

"It's 'cause there's so many happy memories that go with 'em." She glanced at the quiet dragon slayer beside her. Natsu's onyx eyes were hard with anger. "They don't like when we're happy, so the first thing they try to do is get rid of what puts us in a good mood."

Lucy thought back to when she'd been told about how Happy had earned his name, and patted Natsu's shoulder gently before standing. She stretched. "In any case, it doesn't matter if they were frightened or not. They killed all of the Exceeds, and we need to keep going."

"We're not leaving until Yukino's back," Sting said immediately, shooting a look at the others. Rogue silently nodded his agreement, but Jellal shook his head as he and Erza stood, too.

"Lucy is right," Erza said firmly. "We need to keep moving, or the Marked will attack again. Yukino chose to walk away from us, we can't wait for her, Sting. You and Rogue may stay if you want, but the rest of us are going to move on."

Wendy shifted uncomfortably, looking uncertain when Sting fired back, "We waited for that Meredy for a good day before we moved on. Why shouldn't we wait the same amount of time for Yukino? Is this because of what happened in the Grand Magic Games? Because I thought we were over that." Sting's eyes were furious as he glared at them, and Lucy bit her lip, shaking her head.

"It's not because of that," Levy sighed as she stood. Gajeel grunted as he hauled himself to his feet, propping an elbow on her head and leaning against her. She staggered under his weight, but let him, flashing him a brief smile. "The Marked _will_ come after us, especially with the scent of blood in the air. And there are still some of us who can be saved, Sting. We _must_ keep moving."

"The shrimp's right," Gajeel muttered gruffly, "We don't got a grudge against ya, but it's how it is."

Natsu grunted his agreement, but said nothing more.

Sting glanced over his shoulder with a look of distress, not willing to leave his nakama, but it was Rogue who spoke up then, changing his mind. "They're right, Sting. We should keep going. We'll leave a note and some supplies for Yukino, letting her know which way we went if she wants to catch up."

"...fine," Sting agreed, though he still seemed somewhat reluctant. He went over to the small amount of supplies that had been retrieved over the night, and began to pull out small amounts of different things for Yukino.

The others watched him for a few minutes before Natsu finally stood. Lucy glanced at him, making sure he wasn't going to blow up like she thought he might, then turned to Levy. "Do you want me to see what I can do for your arm before we get going?" she offered. "I doubt Gajeel doesn't have a single clue as to what he's doing and Wendy can't help you…"

"That would be great," Levy said gratefully, grimacing in annoyance when Sting ripped a page out of a book she'd grabbed to write on. Gajeel moved back, giving her space, and Lucy studied her arm for a few moments before saying, "Wendy? You worked with Porlyusica before all of this...what do I need to do?"

After Levy's arm had been fixed as best as possible and Sting and Rogue had left a note and supplies for Yukino, the group of survivors were off again. Lucy could tell from where she was walking beside a silent Natsu that Gajeel's leg was bothering him, but the stubborn iron dragon slayer was refusing to admit to the pestering solid-script mage that it was.

"Natsu," Lucy said softly as she strode beside him, catching his attention. He glanced at her, and Lucy bit her lip hesitantly before saying quietly, "I'm sorry. About Happy...it's-"

"It's not your fault, Luce, stop blaming yourself," he cut her off. Natsu folded his hands behind his head, puffing out a sharp breath. "It's whatever's behind this mess. Whoever started this is to blame." He reached over to gently tug on her blonde hair, and she smiled faintly before smacking his hand away. "'Sides. Happy wouldn't like that you're blaming yourself."

"No, he wouldn't," she admitted. She imagined the little blue cat cheerfully teasing her and Natsu for liking each other and gave a warm smile at the thought. At least he'd been proven right before he'd died. She ran over the faces of each friend they'd lost, determined. She wouldn't forget them. She'd make sure she remembered each and every one of them until her last breath.

Which turned out to be not even a minute later. She tripped, swearing with what breath she had left as the pain returned, boiling her from the inside out. Natsu gritted his teeth in frustration as he caught her, saving her from painfully striking her head on the ground. "Damn it, Luce!"

"It's not her fault," Levy protested as she hurried to catch up, kneeling beside Natsu and Lucy. She gently touched Lucy's hand, looking grateful that she didn't have to stay away from the shuddering celestial mage. She glanced around, counting the people they had with them. "We're all here...nobody's changing...which means Yukino's either changed into one of the Marked or has been killed by them."

Sting clenched his jaw, grief flashing through his eyes and Rogue looked down for a moment, shaking his head. Silence fell over them as Lucy fought to breathe, Natsu murmuring encouragements to her. When the attack ended, Lucy was left exhausted as usual, her gaze glazed over for a few minutes until she'd almost completely recovered. An aftershock or two later, she was shakily climbing to her feet. "I'm okay," she insisted, wheezing. "I'm okay."

But she wasn't, and they all knew it. There was a look in her eyes, one that hadn't been there before, and it had Natsu looking even more frustrated than before. "We need to find shelter," he snapped impatiently, watching as she staggered over to speak to Wendy. "It's gonna snow again."

"Great," Levy sighed. "Just what we need. More cold stuff to trample through...okay, we'll stop at the next place we can and hang out there for a day or two, wait for the snow to stop. Is that okay with everyone else?"

"I don't have much time left," Erza warned. "I don't know if I will be suitable to be holed up with you for more than a few hours."

All heads snapped around to look at Erza, and Jellal looked anything but happy at this realization. "W-we'll deal with that when the time comes," Levy said shakily, not looking eager at the idea of Erza turning. "Let's just keep going for now, okay?"

Nobody disagreed.

* * *

It took them until it was almost pitch black outside to come across an abandoned cabin. Jellal was quick to offer to keep guard outside, looking uncomfortable at the thought of being trapped inside a smaller building with all of them. They hadn't questioned it. "More room for us," Gajeel grunted before swinging inside after his shrimp.

Wendy scurried after the two, trembling from the cold, and Erza and Sting was next to follow. Rogue decided to remain outside with Jellal, claiming he'd rather be outside where he could see the shadows of anything trying to sneak up on them; in other words, he didn't like the idea of being stuck inside along with the rest of them, similar to Jellal's reasons. Lucy and Natsu were last to enter the cabin, Natsu looking somewhat reluctant to do so, but not wanting to leave Lucy alone.

"Cozy," Lucy commented, immediately zoning in on the bed. She playfully pulled Wendy onto it beside her and the sky dragon slayer giggled softly when she tickled her lightly. "We call the bed for tonight!"

Nobody protested, and Levy chuckled before turning to Gajeel. "I'll make some food for you dragon slayers...that way we can preserve as much of our rations as we can." He only shrugged, not protesting. She smiled and glanced back at Sting and Natsu. "That okay with you two? Err, Sting, what exactly do I make you?"

As the two began to converse over this important matter, Erza beckoned for Natsu to come over, her gaze serious. She and Natsu began to speak to each other in low tones, and Lucy frowned in concern at that, but didn't attempt to interrupt. If Erza wanted to speak to her, she would have called the celestial mage over. So she set to work on offering food to Wendy. The small girl simply wanted to sleep, however, promising she would eat in the morning, and Lucy proceeded to tuck her into the bed with a gentle smile.

Silence fell over the cabin - excluding a small argument that arose between Erza and Natsu - and Lucy stroked Wendy's messy hair until the young girl was asleep. As soon as she was out for the night, Lucy stood, making her way over to the two mages. "I'm going to bed," she told them, "Just letting you know. Please don't make too much noise...Wendy needs rest."

Erza snorted softly. "There won't be noise, Lucy, I will make sure of it," she said seriously.

Lucy grinned at her firm words, then turned to Natsu. "Don't go anywhere," she pleaded. "I know you. You planned on going outside and checking the area out, right?" He gaped, and she glared. "I'm not deaf you know, especially when you're arguing with Erza. Erza's right. Let one of the others go outside. You and Gajeel are better off in here. No offense," she added hastily when Gajeel growled from where he was sitting beside Levy.

A pout appeared on Natsu's face. "I can't just sit around, Luce, I need to do something."

"Then make yourself into a heater," Lucy said firmly. "You, Sting, and Wendy need to be careful. You three are the only ones capable of getting infected that aren't." Of course, that didn't include her, who _couldn't_ get sick, but she wasn't exactly eager to go around happy about such a fact. She stepped closer, gently kissed his cheek with a hesitant smile, forcing herself to pretend she didn't notice the angry glare he was giving her for telling him he couldn't run around like an idiot. "Good night, Natsu. Erza."

Erza gave her a gentle smile, her gaze soft as she murmured, "Good night, Lucy." Lucy frowned. That was unlike Erza in situations like this… Shrugging it off, the celestial mage went to make herself at home on the floor beside the bed despite claiming it for both she and Wendy. She'd let the young girl enjoy the comfort for the night. She'd use the next bed they came across.

It was difficult, arranging one of the thing blankets beneath her and curling up to attempt to get some warmth at the same time, but she was falling asleep in no time, especially when Natsu, grumbling about "stupid Lucy", came and made himself at home beside her, providing himself as a personal heater again.

Smiling to herself, Lucy pressed back against him and fell asleep, pretending she didn't hear Levy cooing over the two of them.

* * *

Her eyes snapped open to the sound of the door of the cabin clicking shut.

Disoriented, Lucy carefully picked through her thoughts, groggily figuring out who had come in or left. Natsu was snoring away beside her despite claiming that he'd wanted to run around hunting for anything that might show up at a later time. Wendy was still out cold in the bed, murmuring unhappily in her sleep. Sting was passed out against a wall, sitting up with his head rolled onto his shoulder in an uncomfortable looking position. Gajeel and Levy occupied a corner, both seemingly asleep. Levy's head had dropped to rest against Gajeel's arm, and the iron dragon slayer had an arm tossed around her, pinning her against his side. Her lips twitched tiredly upwards at the sight, and she realized who was missing.

Erza.

Yawning, she contemplated whether or not she'd rather figure out where the red-haired requip mage had gone or snuggle up against Natsu again. He seemed more inclined to the second idea, as he rolled over and reached out, seeking her out. But, with a heavy sigh, she realized there were more important matters than warmth and hopped lightly to her feet. The second her feet hit the ground, Gajeel's eyes popped open, glinting a brilliant red in the dark. When he realized who it was, however, he rolled them and went back to pretending he was asleep.

Sticking her tongue out at Gajeel, Lucy slipped outside, careful not to make too much noise. She looked around, noticing that Rogue was nowhere to be found, nor was Jellal. So much for their guard dogs…

Shrugging to herself, Lucy started forward. She might as well _try_ and figure out where they'd all run off to...Natsu wasn't running around throwing fire at anything, so there hadn't been any battle… Humming under her breath, the celestial mage started forward...then stopped dead in her tracks when a low yet firm voice said very clearly, "No."

Ah, so Erza had gone after Jellal. Not surprising, she'd been attempting to convince Jellal that all of them had forgiven him for his past mistakes, that he'd cleared his name thousands of time over. Lucy shrugged, rolling her eyes at herself before turning to head back to the cabin.

"Jellal," Erza's voice answered, sounding desperate. "Please. Do it. I'm almost gone, I have mere hours at the most...and I do not wish for my nakama to witness my death."

Lucy stopped again, this time her lips parting in surprise and her eyes snapping wide.

 _Wait...what?_ She whirled around, brown eyes searching out the pair. It was easy enough to see the glint of red against all of the white snow and she quietly hurried closer, her hands clenched into worried fists. She ducked behind a tree. She'd rather _not_ let Erza know she'd been sneaking out to see where she was going, especially after that previous comment… She peered around the tree.

Jellal was shaking his head, his eyes saddened. "I won't do it, Erza," he said calmly.

Erza looked desperate as she shoved the sword in her hands towards him, slamming it hard into his chest. He winced and was shoved back a step. "Jellal," she said angrily, "If you don't do it, I will. I don't want to force my nakama to be the ones to have to behead me. They already had to do that with Gray. I will _not_ make them repeat it."

A muscle in Jellal's jaw ticked as he gritted his teeth. "So you'll make me do it? I won't, Erza. You're asking too much."

"Please." Erza softened her tone into a pleading one. He shifted uncomfortably when she tried to press the sword into his hands again.

"I _can't_ ," he muttered, shaking his head. He adjusted the cloak he wore, his free hand pushing the sword back in her direction. "I can't do it, Erza. I _can't_."

"Fine." Suddenly resigned, Erza stepped back, gaze never leaving Jellal's. There was a flash of light as she requipped, the sword being traded for a smaller blade. It was a short sword, its hilt crested with a large gem. "Then I will have to do this myself." For the first time in a long time, Erza's voice trembled. "Alert my nakama of what has happened. Tell them that it was my choice." She raised the blade, placing the tip at the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

Jellal's eyes snapped wide. "Erza-"

She slammed the blade home just as Lucy gave a strangled cry, agony shooting through her. She crashed to her knees before toppling over as Erza's body hit the ground, and Jellal swore as he whipped around to look in her direction. "Lucy?! What are you -"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud explosion that rocked the ground he stood on. He staggered, fighting to keep his balance as smoke began to billow into the air from the direction of the cabin. His eyes widened as a scream pierced the night, and he gave Erza's body a final glance before darting forward, snow spraying as he slammed onto his knees beside Lucy, who jerked violently, mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. Another explosion nearly sent him falling over, but he saved himself, using his body to protect the celestial mage when debris came falling from the sky.

"What the hell?" he rasped, looking bewildered. What could have possibly gone wrong enough that there was debris reaching where they were? He turned his attention back on Lucy, whose eyes had glazed over. "Lucy?" he murmured, concerned. He dropped his ear to her chest, listening intently for a heartbeat and pressed his lips into a hard line when there was nothing.

Jellal groaned. Why did this have to happen _now_? "Come on, Lucy," he said firmly, shaking her gently.

But she felt nothing but the pain and heard only the sound of blood roaring in her ears. All she knew was that she couldn't breathe and she _needed_ to. _Desperately_. She couldn't see, and sounds were echoing strangely around her. She could just barely hear Jellal as he tried to shake her back into awareness, shouting something about Natsu-

Her vision cleared. Natsu. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Suddenly able to gulp down air, she proceeded to do so, coughing and wheezing, shivering violently as the cold snow soaked into her back. Trying to help, Jellal pulled her up into a sitting position, his gaze darting over his shoulder. "Good," he breathed. "We need to hurry."

"R-right," she slurred out, exhausted. She let Jellal haul her to her feet, leaning heavily on him as he tried to usher her forward as quickly as he could. Losing patience, however, he simply swung her up into his arms. Lucy tried to protest, but gave up, closing her eyes. If it got her to Natsu faster, then to hell with it. He could carry her if he wanted.

When they stepped out of the trees into the clearing that the cabin was in...no, _had_ been in, Lucy felt tears sprang to her eyes. The cabin was ablaze, smoke still rising from it, and her face paled when the gleaming moonlight showed some thick liquid dripping sluggishly from a broken piece of wood that was still standing.

She shoved away from Jellal then, and he let her. Stumbling forward, she let out a cry of Natsu's name, but the cry became a terrified scream when something came flying out of the flames at her. She dove out of the way, and Jellal was quick to use his magic as a shield to stop it from ramming into him. It drove him back a few feet before Lucy realized what it was.

Why was it _always_ Gajeel that nearly killed her?

"Gajeel!" she shouted, then shivered when he whirled to face her, his glowing eyes locking on her. Iron scales rippled, raising and falling along his flesh like they belonged to an actual dragon, and Lucy felt a flash of fear when she realized he might as well have the mind of one at the moment.

Never again would she be as grateful for Levy risking her life for her as she was at that moment. The solid-script mage came flying out of the flames after him, her magic working overtime to create a barrier to keep the flames away. "Gajeel!" she shouted, "Over here, he's over-oof!" Something slammed into her and she was sent sprawling, clutching at her torso with a pained gasp.

Lucy threw herself in the solid-script mage's direction. "Levy!" she cried, checking on the other girl. Thankfully, Levy had only had the breath driven out of her. Her head snapped around as a shadow loomed over them, and her body stiffened when she saw the single red eye glaring at them from the darkness.

 _Rogue_ was attacking? But he didn't have the Marks quite nearly as bad...was it changing? Was the disease shifting the way it worked?

Gajeel gave an outraged roar and lunged at Rogue. The shadow vanished, slipping speedily along the ground to avoid the attack. Lucy ducked to avoid a missed swing that would have killed her instantly had it connected with her head. Black mist seemed to trail behind the swing, and Lucy grimaced. He was in his Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. As Gajeel chased after it, she spared a glance in Jellal's direction, but he'd vanished.

"Lucy," Levy gasped upon catching her breath. "You're okay! We thought-"

"Sorry, was dealing with unpleasant things." She shuddered at the memory. "Erza's dead."

Levy groaned in response, rolling over and shoving herself to her knees. "Not Erza," she whispered before clutching her stomach. " _Ow_ , that hurt."

Lucy let her gaze keep traveling around, keeping an eye out for Rogue. "Where's Natsu? Wendy and Sting, too."

"Don't know," she mumbled, screwing her eyes shut. "Natsu was the one that blew up the cabin...Sting had Wendy last time I checked. He was protecting her, but Rogue kept going after him in particular. Both of them have the Marks now, Lucy. Natsu's the only one who doesn't."

She tensed for a moment before shaking her head. Now wasn't the time to focus on that. "Come on." She hauled Levy to her feet, staggering herself when her head spun. She was still tired from her attack, and she was absolutely at a loss as to how she was still awake. "We need to find them."

"Lucy," Levy said softly as the celestial mage dragged her forward, her eyes widening. "You're shaking...badly."

"It's...it's fine," Lucy managed to choke out. She released her friend's arm to cup her hands around her mouth and scream at the top of her lungs, praying that the one she was aiming for would be the one that found her. " _NATSU!_ "

It was only a split second later that a ball of flames came barreling through the trees, not seeming to pause to consider the fact that trees were bursting into flame around it. Lucy grinned, tears of relief beginning to fall down her cheeks, and she threw out her arms a moment before someone slammed into her at full force. Both went sprawling and Natsu panted for breath in her ear as he hugged her tightly. "I thought I told you not to scare me like that again!"

"Sorry," she wheezed back, wincing. She was going to have bruises from that impact. She slapped her hands over her his cheeks, ignoring the fire that still raged around them. It didn't burn her. In fact, it had encircled both her and Levy protectively, keeping them safe from the shadows outside. "You're okay? You weren't touched?"

He shook his head, then shoved her back suddenly. "Sting and Wendy are coming this way. I need to go help Gajeel catch Rogue...he's purposely taunting Gajeel. He tried to kill Sting." He shook his head in disgust. "Stay here."

With that, Natsu slipped away, lighting up the night as he darted towards the sound of fighting.

* * *

 _Sadness. I love Levy. And Gajeel. MY FAMILY IS GONE THANK MAVIS. I love them to death, but I got NOTHING accomplished while they were here... ANYHOW! Chapters will be edited by the lovely editor again (as stated previously, I haven't been able to communicate with her over them efficiently). Thanks to reviewers (OgaxHilda, ToxicVena, Kinsutenekochan, MarSofTheGalaxies, mariahcarmichael.3, and LegendaryWolf129), and to all of you that favorited and followed! ;D_


	16. Chapter 15

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Rather than waiting for Sting and Wendy as Natsu had wanted her to do, Lucy took one long look at Levy, who met her gaze evenly. The small blue-haired woman had a nasty cut on one cheek, the blood leaking from it contrasting heavily against the black streak that had spread down her cheek in the light of the burning trees around them. Natsu's fire wouldn't burn them, she was sure of it, but it didn't make it any less terrifying when the flames were roaring around your head. "Come on," she said firmly. "We have dragon slayers to keep an eye on."

Levy smirked. "Right," she agreed. Lucy grabbed her hand, then took off at a run, Levy keeping up with ease. The two women navigated the burning trees, careful not to trip as they did so. Somewhere in her mind, Lucy wondered where Jellal had gone, but didn't voice her concerns.

Suddenly, Levy squealed, "Look out!" Lucy's head snapped around just in time to see a flash of golden light as Capricorn forced his gate open. The flaming tree that had come flying out of nowhere slammed into him instead of Lucy, and the Celestial Spirit grunted, unable to spare even a single greeting before he vanished into thin air, his key turning to pretty golden dust.

Lucy stared at the spot Capricorn had been in with horror, and she barely heard Levy yelling at her to _move_ when something sprang out of the shadows, lashing out with attacks that trailed familiar black mist. Levy shoved her out of the way, swerving to avoid the attack herself as the realization finally struck Lucy.

They'd leaped straight into the middle of the battle without fully intending to just yet.

Lucy snapped back into awareness, shaking her head to clear it before focusing on the situation at hand as Gajeel, too, sprang from the shadows, the same black mist trailing every movement he made. She had no doubt that they had a matter of moments before Natsu showed up.

The two dragon slayers launched into battle, and she winced every time one of Gajeel's iron attacks landed a blow on Rogue with a sharp crack. Confusion filled her. Gajeel had beaten Rogue once before...why was it so hard to beat him now? Had the Marks done something different to Rogue than they had to the rest of those affected? She exchanged a look with Levy.

And then it hit her. "Levy!" she gasped, "We need to get Gajeel to stop using this form of his magic!"

Levy frowned. "But-"

Lucy grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "Levy, think about it! The Marks are some sort of dark magic, right? Rogue is - was - a shadow mage. He specialized in magic based around darkness, even if he didn't use it for bad things like he is now! He's lost it! It sped up the process!"

Her eyes snapped wide. "Oh, no," she breathed. Levy then ripped away from Lucy, not hesitating to jump into the middle of the fighting. Lucy clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream of fear for her friend when Rogue's eyes gleamed with triumph and he moved to deliver a fatal blow to her.

And then a funnel of flames exploded from the trees. Natsu came jumping into view, looking fairly pissed off about the fact that he'd been left behind - again - and let another Fire Dragon's Roar loose, effectively distracting Rogue. Rogue's blow missed, and Gajeel was able to jerk Levy out of the way, looking furious with her for getting that close to him. "Damn it, shrimp!" he roared, "What the _fuck_ are you doing?!"

She ignored his anger, though Lucy could see the shocked trembling in her friend's hands as she raised them to grab his arms. "Stop," she gasped, "You need to stop using the shadow stuff, too, it's going to increase the rate at which the Marks spread."

He looked bewildered, then grunted as he did as she told him. The mist disappeared, leaving him in simply iron scales, and Levy smiled faintly as he gently shoved her in Lucy's direction. "You two get out of here," he growled, "We've got this."

Lucy bit her lip, hesitant. It didn't look like they had the situation handled. Natsu looked like he was beginning to run out of energy already - a reminder that they hadn't been able to get as much rest and food as they should have been getting - and Gajeel was forced to keep avoiding attacks, rarely getting in any of his own with the loss of his shadow-using advantage.

Lucy wanted to scream. She wanted to help, but she couldn't! Her heart was thudding in her chest, a heavy reminder of what would happen if things went the wrong way. She had no doubt that if an attack happened now, Rogue would use the distraction to kill Natsu and more than likely she and Levy.

So, hands trembling, Lucy reached for her keys. Tears forming and rolling down her cheeks, Lucy forced herself to shakily raise two of her golden keys. Levy looked at her in surprise as she called for the gates to open, but Lucy ignored her, focusing on what she was doing. The second Cancer and Taurus appeared before her, they launched into action already knowing what she wanted.

Four on one was too much, even for a diseased Rogue. With Natsu breathing fire from a distance in the branches of a tree and Gajeel and Cancer attacking from the ground, it gave Taurus the chance he needed to quickly slam his axe through the shadow dragon slayer. The halves of Rogue's body hit the ground just as Taurus and Cancer vanished, and Lucy panted for breath, dropping to her knees. _...it's getting harder,_ she realized dully. It was getting more difficult to summon her spirits willingly.

Not that she had many left. Only Loke and Sagittarius remained, and she was determined not to summon them unless absolutely necessary. Not that she could stop them from stepping out on their own accord if she wasn't focusing.

Natsu made his way over to join them, Gajeel close behind as his Dragon Force faded away. Lucy's blood ran cold when she took in the dozens of different Marks that raced across Gajeel's flesh, dancing mockingly across his throat and face as they reached for his heart. What had been weeks of time left for the iron dragon slayer had become a day at the most, maybe two if they were lucky.

Tears filled Levy's eyes as she reached the same realization and she immediately stepped closer to him, pretending to fuss over a scratch that was a lot less than she made it out to be. "Idiot," she mumbled, sniffing softly.

Natsu looked fairly annoyed as he dropped down to sit beside the panting Lucy, already preparing for the inevitable attack that would soon come. His onyx eyes searched her face for any sign of it, and he wasn't surprised when she suddenly doubled over, clutching at her chest. Natsu simply sat beside her, a comforting presence as he listened intently to make sure her heart didn't stop for too long.

It was during the attack that Jellal, Sting, and Wendy appeared. Vision blurred by pained tears, Lucy took that in before silently wondering just where Jellal had gone after Levy had come out of the burning cabin. The pain was ebbing away when she realized the answer to her own question.

A short sword with a gem-crested hilt was in his hand, still dripping the blood that had once given life to Erza. He caught sight of her staring at it and gave her a tight smile before tucking it away. Lucy buried her face in her hands as she sat up, still gasping softly, grateful her heart hadn't stopped permanently. She knew what he planned to do. The second he knew he was going, Jellal planned on using the blade in the same way Erza had. Which meant he didn't intend to stick around.

Sting looked lost, his expression blank. Blood streaked down the side of his face from where he'd struck his head on something, and Lucy guessed that he was in shock from what had happened. Wendy looked outright terrified, her small body shaking violently as she clung to Jellal's arm. Her hazel eyes were wide, staring at nothing, and Lucy shook her head, muttering to Natsu, "C-could you help me...help me up? We need to...we need to move...W-Wendy's going to...she's going to freeze."

"Yeah," he muttered. He stood, and Lucy realized he was just as exhausted as the rest of them as he heaved her to her feet. She staggered, fighting for balance, and ended up leaning heavily against him for a brief moment when her head began to spin.

Jellal shook his head, scrubbing his hand down his face. "We can't move far. Lucy needs rest, as does Wendy. They need to get warm, and soon, before things go ever further south than they already are."

"Right," Natsu mumbled in response.

Silently, the small group started forward, just as they had been for the last who knew how long, leaving Rogue's body for the shadows to hide.

* * *

The next morning found the group relatively normal again. Or as normal as one could get in the current circumstances. Lucy had checked over Wendy, discovering the Marks already spreading, though just barely. Sting's had started spreading as well, even less than Wendy's. Gajeel wasn't doing too hot at the moment, however. As soon as Lucy had seen to her injured arm, Levy had checked the second he'd woken up, and she'd been heart broken to discover that the Marks were a mere breath away from touching where his heart was beneath the solid muscle, leaving them only a few hours left with the iron dragon slayer.

Natsu was quietly chowing down on some fire that he'd managed to create from a piece of flint he'd found and some steel that he'd managed to dig out of what left of the cabin from the night before when Jellal spoke.

"I believe I will be taking my leave of you all today."  
Natsu choked. "What?!" he wheezed after he was done coughing, his gaze darting to Jellal's. The blue-haired mage gave a tight smile. "Why?"

"The Marked find it easier to track larger groups," Jellal said simply. "Breaking off into smaller groups would be more beneficial for all of us. It would help us all survive...or at least you and Lucy, Natsu. The rest of us only have a matter of time before we change. It's safer for the both of you. I suggest you and Lucy leave the group and go your own separate ways as well."

Natsu was on his feet in an instant, in a flaming rage at his suggestion. "You think we'd just _leave_ our nakama? What the hell are you thinking, Jellal?!"

"Natsu," Lucy protested, tiredly reaching up to tug him back down beside her. "Stop, don't go starting fights. Please."

"He's right, Natsu," Levy said quietly, hesitantly touching her cheek. The black had spread along her face, reaching her chin now, and it seemed to ripple when her fingers brushed against it. Her expression was blank, her voice hollow. "It would give both of you a better chance to go off on your own."

"Levy," Lucy said firmly, shaking her head. "Natsu's right, even though he doesn't need to go around making fights about it." She shot him a look for that, and the fire mage gave a huff before dropping back down to sit beside her, still glaring at Jellal. "We're not leaving you guys. Besides." She gave a hesitant smile. "I still have some writing for you to read through, remember?"

What might have been a hint of a smile appeared on Levy's face before disappearing again. "I guess."

Natsu smirked, as if proud that he and Lucy had won a pointless argument. Jellal simply shook his head before standing. "Then I will say my farewells," he said grimly. "I do not believe we will be seeing each other again."

Wendy blinked up at him with a saddened expression and he gave her a gentle smile, patting her head before turning to leave.

"Hold up, Jellal." Sting shoved himself to his feet, his eyes sharp as he glared at him. Jellal paused to glance back at the light dragon slayer. "I'm goin' with you. You're the one who decided to drag us out of where we were hiding, so I'm going to make sure you deal with the results."

Jellal sighed heavily. "If that's what you want," he muttered before starting forward.

"Sting," Lucy said, hopping to her feet with a desperate look, but the blonde man waved her off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not blaming anyone for what happened to Rogue," he said with a shrug. He flashed her a grim smile. "It was going to happen eventually anyways, and it's going to happen to the rest of us. Keep Natsu safe, okay? Don't let him get all Marked up, too."

"...okay." She forced a smile to her face in response and the group of Fairy Tail mages watched in silence as Jellal and Sting disappeared into the trees around them. They always seemed to be camping in the forest now a days, but she gotten used to the fact that it seemed to be safer. The Marked hung around the towns and darkest places and while the forests had places where it was scary, it was a hell of a lot safer than elsewhere. Shaking her head, Lucy returned to sit beside Natsu and Wendy, lost in thought.

Levy offered some iron to Gajeel, who grudgingly bit into it, the metal making a sharp screech as he tore a chunk out of it with his teeth. Lucy winced at the sound, but said nothing.

Only a few weeks ago, she'd been sitting in the guildhall, enjoying herself with her guildmates. She could remember the way Mira had whisked past her in an attempt to stop Cana from drinking all of the alcohol. She could remember the way Gray had somehow lost his clothes while picking a fight with a smug looking Natsu, who was taunting him in return. She could remember the way Juvia had gushed over Gray's nakedness while others had looked away in disgust. She could remember Gajeel shouting at Gray to put some clothes on before he made him and Erza scaring the two in submission. She could remember the way Lisanna and Elfman had shook their heads in exasperation and the way Levy had giggled before returning to the book she'd been reading, Lily secretly peering at the text over her shoulder in an attempt to join her. Lucy could remember Laxus watching alone from a corner as his three friends chattered eagerly, Evergreen's eyes darting to Elfman every now and then, Bickslow pretending that he hadn't bumped into Lisanna on purpose. She could remember Makarov sitting on top of the bar, keeping a close eye on everyone in an attempt to keep them from destroying their guildhall. Again.

How had it gone so wrong? How was this even _real_? Surely nothing as simple as a disease could have torn through all of Fiore and destroyed them all?

Suddenly, a splitting pain raced through her head. Unlike her previous attacks, her heart continued to beat a steady rhythm in her chest, her lungs still let her suck in air, but her _head_ \- She groaned softly, clutching it, digging her nails into her scalp and screwing her eyes shut.

"Lucy?" Natsu said, looking concerned as he leaned closer to try and convince her to look at him. "You okay?"

"My _head_ ," she gritted out. It felt as if something was ripping through the inside of her mind, just _daring_ her to try and ignore it. "It _hurts_." Another stab of pain made her cringe, and she gave a soft gasp, feeling sick.

"Levy," she heard Natsu call worriedly, and the solid-script mage darted over. "Something's wrong."

 _"Hold on, Lucy, just hold on,"_ she thought she heard Levy say urgently in her ear. Her hands gently pried her fingers away from her head, her hazel eyes staring firmly into Lucy's. _"Lucy? Can you hear me? Listen to me, open your eyes."_

Lucy didn't answer, shaking her head. It would kill her to open her eyes. The pain would be even worse if she did that, and she knew it. So she kept shaking her head, sobbing into her hands desperately even as Natsu joined in, trying to convince her to look up, because damn it, she was scaring the hell out of him again! She wanted to scream at them to stop, but they wouldn't, they kept trying to make her open her eyes.

Suddenly, the pain vanished. "Lucy!" Natsu rasped in her ear. "C'mon, look at me! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she said faintly, reassuringly tugging on the edge of his scarf slowly raising her head. "I'm...I'm okay." She blinked a few times to clear her vision, her gaze landing lightly on Levy's concerned eyes. Levy searched her gaze to make sure sure that she was alright before returning to her place beside Gajeel. "Sorry."

Natsu didn't look entirely convinced as he sat back, his eyes never leaving her. "What happened? It wasn't-"

"No, it wasn't like the little moments I get." Lucy shook her head, furrowing her brow in concentration as she tried to figure it out. "It's...I must have gotten a little...never mind. I'm fine now, that's all that matters."

"Didn't look like it wasn't that big a deal," Gajeel grunted. Lucy took in the dark look in his eyes and shuddered. The iron dragon slayer looked ready to commit murder, and she found herself hoping that wasn't actually the case within the next few hours. Shaking her head to get rid of that thought, Lucy rubbed her temples, getting rid of the last remnants of pain that lanced through her mind every now and then.

"We need to figure out what we're doing next," Lucy decided, trying to get the focus off of her and onto something else. Levy nodded her agreement, and it was, to their surprise, Wendy who pointed out where they were.

"Akane Beach isn't that far away," the youngest dragon slayer said timidly, biting her lip as she spoke. She glanced in the direction Jellal and Sting had gone before turning her gaze onto Lucy, her gaze serious. "Maybe we can go there and see if there are fish in the ocean we can eat? Natsu can cook them really quickly. We could eat."

"Runt has a point," Gajeel agreed, crossing his arms with a huff. "But it'll be colder there. The wind coming off the ocean will make it worse than it is here in the forest...you sure you wanna go there?"

"We've got nothing better to do. Besides, we _did_ lose whatever food we had when Natsu blew the cabin up," Levy pointed out. She wrapped her coat around her tighter, wincing when she jostled her injured arm, and edged towards the fire. "It's worth a shot at least."

"Yeah," Lucy murmured. "Guess we'll go to Akane Beach then...what do you think, Natsu?"

He gave a grin, though it was forced. "Fine with me. I can eat as many fish as I want as long as I can catch enough for you guys, right?"

"Yeah," Levy giggled. "Just as long as you get us enough fish, I don't see a problem with that. Do you?" She glanced up at Gajeel, who simply shrugged, using her as an armrest and resting his elbow on her messy blue head. Lucy took notice of the cloth holding Levy's bangs back with a slight smile. Gajeel had torn another piece of his clothing off to let her have a headband.

It hurt her to think that Levy would soon be losing that slight comfort she had in the mess they found themselves in.

Sighing, Lucy shook her head and forced herself to focus on happier thoughts. Now wasn't the time, she told herself. Now wasn't the time to think over who was going next, especially when it was obvious as to who that person was. Levy seemed to be thinking about the same thing, because she suddenly reached up to twine her fingers with the hand that hung in front of her face, her eyes bright with tears. Gajeel huffed softly and tightened his grip on her hand, muttering something to her. She shook her head, swiping quickly at her face with her free hand.

Wendy leaned closer to Lucy, breathing into her ear so that not even Natsu on the other side of her could hear, "L-Lucy, the scent is getting stronger. He's going to turn soon. And I...I don't know if Gajeel would, err, let us know first."

Lucy pressed her lips into a hard line at this. Wendy was right. It was unlikely the iron dragon slayer would admit to having a headache...so, she raised her chin and said hesitantly, "Gajeel?" Those furious red eyes turned on her. "You need to let us know when you're about to change into one of the Marked," she said firmly. "When you have the headache and such…it's for Levy's and Wendy's safety." Natsu, too, of course.

Personally? She didn't care all that much about her own safety. If there wasn't anyone alive with her, there was no point to even trying.

Gajeel huffed, rolling his eyes. "I ain't stupid, Bunny Girl. I was planning on it."

"Sure you were," Lucy muttered, earning another glare. She glanced at Natsu, who was surprisingly quiet at the moment, simply watching her. She frowned, and reached over to gently prod at his arm. "Natsu? You okay?"

He blinked. "Err, yeah," he muttered, poking her back in response. She swatted his hand away when he aimed for her side to tickle her before standing, brushing her impossibly dirty pants off. It was hard to get new clothes without attracting the attention of the Marked, who always seemed ready to come after them the second they entered an area with supplies. They'd gotten lucky when they'd stayed in Hargeon.

Wendy suddenly smiled brightly as she clapped her hands together. "Levy! I can heal your arm now! And Gajeel's leg, so we can move faster!"

"Don't bother with my leg," Gajeel muttered. "It'll save you trouble later."

She frowned at him for that before happily hopping over to heal the arm Levy offered. As they did that, the small girl looking happy to have found something good in the mass amount of despair that surrounded them, Lucy watched with a slight smile. Natsu sniffed at the air, and Lucy was reminded of the stray dogs that had often wandered the streets of Magnolia, looking for the next scrap that hit the ground. "Natsu?" she questioned.

He shook his head. "Thought I smelled something...doesn't matter. You guys ready to go?"

Levy nodded, letting Wendy pull her to her feet as she swung her newly healed arm. Wendy beamed, looking proud of herself for doing something good for their small team. Gajeel grunted as he heaved himself to his feet, the black Marks rippling across his skin.

And, without another word, the five Fairy Tail mages set off for Akane Beach.

* * *

If there was one thing Lucy was later grateful for concerning the Marks, it was the way they were unable to completely figure out how to manipulate the magic of the mage they possessed. Because if they had been able to use Dragon Force, or even the dragon slayer magic period to its full potential, she was pretty sure they wouldn't have survived.

It had been a few hours since they'd set out for the beach, and Lucy was clambering gracelessly over a dead log covered in moss with Natsu's help when pain suddenly flashed through her at the same time that Gajeel's fist turned into one of iron. Lucy gave a cry, tumbling forward face-first, and would have slammed into the ground if not for the quick thinking of Wendy, who yelped as she threw herself beneath Lucy. Natsu, making sure that Wendy was protecting the celestial mage, turned his attentions upon the situation at hand, which immediately went south when Levy whispered, "Gajeel?"

He whirled on her, the iron fist becoming a razor sharp blade that was slammed through Levy's chest. Lucy groaned as another wave of pain washed over her, refusing to allow her the chance to breathe. The solid-script mage crumpled without a sound, her eyes glazing over within moments, and Natsu swore before unleashing a massive blast of flames that the iron dragon slayer was able to avoid with surprising ease.

"L-Lucy," Wendy stammered, looking terrified now. She shook the blonde's shoulders, trembling as she did so. "Lucy, please! We need to move, we're going to be-" She cut off with a scream when Gajeel's blade suddenly descended down upon them.

Light exploded around them and Lucy, suddenly able to breathe, gasped and choked down air as she and Wendy were suddenly ripped out of the way by a pissed off Loke, who was glowering at Gajeel in an almost vicious manner. "L-Loke," Lucy sobbed, terror filling her. While she loved all of her spirits, he was the one she was trying to avoid letting through the most.

He flashed a grim smile, winking before shouting, "Natsu! I've got them! Focus on Gajeel! Sagittarius will help you!"

Natsu, who'd made the mistake of pausing to stare at Loke, and then Sagittarius, who showed up an instant later, gave a curt nod before having to leap out of the way when Gajeel turned on him, a chainsaw ripping to life on his other arm.

"Wendy," Loke said firmly, reassuringly patting her head after setting her down. Lucy tensed as an aftershock of pain raced through her and gave a sobbed groan. Another one was sure to come the second that Gajeel had been taken down, and she wasn't looking forward to it. "Protect Lucy, okay?"

She stared at him with wide eyes, then gave a curt nod. "Yes."

Loke ruffled her hair, met Lucy's gaze for a moment and then said with seriousness in his gaze and a hasty tone, "Lucy, I need you to listen to me and remember this, because I won't be able to tell you again, alright?" Still disorientated, all she could do was nod. "Nightmares are terrifying, but remember, Lucy. You can always choose to wake up."

"What is that supposed to...to mean?" she gasped, utterly bewildered, but he was already darting away to help Sagittarius and Natsu, preparing a particularly nasty Regulus Impact that Lucy somehow knew would kill Gajeel. The light from Loke's attack combined with an arrow Sagittarius fired, and Loke shouted for Natsu to get out of the immediate area just before he flickered out of existence.

There was an explosion of light as the last of Lucy's keys crumbled to dust in her trembling fingers, and then all was silent.

* * *

 _So...yeah. Things happened. Rogue, Levy, and Gajeel are dead and Loke and Sagittarius are gone. UGH I didn't enjoy killing Gajeel and Levy. ;0; Hope you enjoyed! Thanks to reviewers (LegendaryWolf129, BlessYourStar21, and Become's one with the story) and for the favorites and follows! See you on Monday!_


	17. Chapter 16

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

It was quiet. A chilling quiet that had the hairs on the back of Lucy's neck raising, and she had the distinct feeling that someone was watching them. More than likely they'd been found by a pack of Marked ones, who were probably keeping back for the time being, waiting for the perfect chance to attack. She snorted to herself at the thought. Why didn't they just attack and get it over with?

Natsu glanced at her, concerned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, closing her eyes to simply rest as he walked. The fire mage had demanded she let him carry her for the rest of the day after the attack accompanying Gajeel's death, until they found somewhere suitable to rest. She'd decided not to bother protesting, especially after she'd had him examine the mark on her back only to discover that it was nearly filled out completely. He'd get his way anyways...so, the celestial mage found herself being carried on his back, one arm wrapped around his neck to keep her balance, the other clasped lightly in Wendy's hand. "Just thinking, that's all."

Wendy scrunched up her nose unhappily, being _very_ careful not to touch Natsu as she stepped over a tree root. "They're following us."

So the dragon slayers had noticed it, too. Why she was surprised, she didn't know. Their noses would have told them if their ears hadn't.

"I know," Natsu grumbled, onyx eyes darting to look over the shoulder Lucy wasn't resting her chin on. She fought back a sneeze when his pink hair brushed against her nose. "They're not attacking. I don't think they're going to. They cut us off from the beach."

"Where are we going then?" Lucy demanded, frowning again.

"Back towards Magnolia," Natsu said with a soft huff. "They're herding us like we're cattle." Fury underlined his words, and Lucy sighed softly, patting his chest with the hand that wasn't holding Wendy's.

"We'll figure it out," she told him, shaking her head. _Not._

Wendy spoke up again, pulling her hand free of Lucy's. "Could we head towards Clover Town, do you think? Or would they cut us off again?"

"I think we just need to find a safe place and hole up there for as long as we can," Natsu said bluntly. "But we can't. We need food, and I can feel the temperature dropping again. You two are going to need some kind of shelter. I can keep ya warm, but even I get cold at some points."

"I don't know how you haven't lost a limb from frostbite yet," Lucy commented, referencinging to his lack of coat. He'd gone with a simple jacket he'd found while they'd been sheltering in Hargeon, but it had been burned away when the Marked had come after them.

He flashed her a small grin. "It's hard to get cold when you're fired up all the time."

"Idiot," she sighed, smacking his head lightly. She went back to brooding about the fact that she had no keys left, that all of her Celestial Spirits may or may not have been dead. Just like everyone else was or was going to be. The thought had her tightening her grip around Natsu. She _couldn't_ let him get the Marks. If he got the Marks...she didn't dare think about the pain that would accompany that, both physically and mentally.

Lucy furrowed her brow in thought, thinking back to what Loke had told her...or trying to. She couldn't remember all that well, the recovering along with an attack moments later had diminished her memory of the words. What had he said? Something about remembering something? A stab of pain in her head made her grimace. Okay, change of plans, she wouldn't focus on that. At all. It hurt her head to think about it.

"Um, Lucy?" She glanced at Wendy, who was looking at her with concern in her hazel eyes. "Do you think...do you think they're waiting for us? Like Gray said he'd do for Juvia?"

She blinked in surprise, then smiled gently at the sky dragon slayer. "Maybe," she answered softly. "I hope so." Wasn't that a nice thought? It wouldn't be bad to be with her guildmates again...so long as Natsu and Wendy were there, too. As long as everyone was there, she wouldn't mind going to join them.

But they weren't. Wendy and Natsu were still alive. And until both of them were no longer part of the world she was in, she'd try her hardest to remain alive alongside them.

"Nah," Natsu said, kicking a rock out of his way. "That icy bastard wouldn't wait around...he and Erza are probably off doing who the hell knows what with Juvia. Probably took some kind of S-Class mission without us."

Lucy giggled, her gaze softening. Before Sting and Jellal had left, Jellal had made sure to inform the rest of her friends of what had happened to the requip mage. Nobody had been surprised by her choice of action. It was just so Erza to think of her nakama before herself. She found herself wondering about the two males. She hadn't had any attacks, so maybe they, too, were still out there, fighting to survive…

"Master won't be too happy," Wendy giggled, joining in. She looked a bit happier now, as if thinking of their guild in such a way was reassuring her that everything would be alright. "He'll probably send someone to drag them back, especially if Happy stole it again." She was more than aware of the stolen S-Class job Team Natsu had completed long before she'd come into the picture.

Natsu threw his head back and laughed, the sound slightly forced. "He wouldn't dare leave without me."

Lucy smiled softly to herself as she listened to Wendy and Natsu playfully tease each other about what each of their nakama was probably doing at the moment. _Who knows?_ she thought warmly to herself. Perhaps in some alternate world, maybe in one that wasn't even Edolas, they were kicking up trouble, just as they always had.

She truly hoped those people were aware of just how lucky they were at the moment.

Lucy fell silent, simply listening to the two as they fell into a playful banter about whether or not Happy could have beaten Charle in a race. Wendy was adamant about the fact that while Happy was probably more used to racing around trying to help Natsu in battle, Charle was able to move far more quickly, _especially_ if they were carrying their respective dragon slayers.

"I'm not _that_ heavy," Natsu protested, pouting. Wendy raised an eyebrow silently and Natsu glanced at Lucy, pleading silently for her to back him up. "C'mon, I'm not! Am I, Luce?"

" _Well_ ," Lucy teased, tugging on a lock of pink hair. His jaw dropped and she grinned before saying, "I'm sorry, but you're going to weigh a lot with the amount of muscle you have. Look at this," she told Wendy, poking at his arm. So maybe the messing around made her feel just a little bit better… "Solid. I'm with you, Wendy, he's going to slow Happy down by weighing too much."

Natsu gaped. "Lucy!"

"It's true," she said, shrugging with a gleam in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Traitor," he accused, pretending to look hurt. She only patted his chest again, smirking as Wendy beamed, proud to have come out of the argument on top.

"Nope," she corrected. "Truthful."

"Weirdo," he muttered. Her heart twisted at the nickname he'd given her so long ago, and she gave him a small squeeze of gratitude. It had been far too long since she'd been called such. Where it had once annoyed her, she was grateful for it. It meant her Natsu was still alive.

"Hm…" Wendy looked at them with a contemplating look. "Mira's probably complaining about how long you two took. I'm pretty sure there was a bet going about how long it would take you two to kiss."

Lucy's eyes snapped wide and she sputtered, face flushing red. Sometimes she forgot that while Wendy was - had been - one of the youngest members of the guild, she wasn't completely innocent despite Charle's best attempts. " _Wendy!_ " she cried as Natsu proudly grinned, looking as if he'd just won a lottery.

Still teasing, Wendy smirked at Natsu. "I think there was a second bet to see how long it would take you to stop being so hard-headed and go through with it, too, Natsu."

He threw an arm up in the air in exasperation, the other still holding Lucy up. "C'mon, give me a break!"

Lucy giggled, resting her chin on his shoulder again.

For the rest of their traveling throughout the day, not a single one of them mentioned the fact that their time was more than likely running out.

* * *

Three days later found the trio standing at the top of the very same hill Natsu and Lucy had stood on when they'd returned with Juvia and Gray from discovering that Blue Pegasus was no more. They looked down upon the destruction with a serious and wary look on each of their faces. The town was silent, looking eerie with the ash and snow that coated the destroyed buildings and streets, and she could have sworn she saw something dark slide out of a building, a bright flash of brilliantly colored cloth in its mouth.

"So...what do we do now?" Lucy said uncertainly, her voice hushed. She felt a flash of gratitude for the fact that Natsu had a hand wrapped around one of hers, keeping her fingers on that hand warm while the others froze. She squeezed his hand to show just how grateful she was.

He returned it before answering. "Try to survive. There isn't much else we can do, Luce."

Wendy nodded her agreement, shifting her weight. "Do you think there might be something to eat around here?" she said hopefully. Lucy smiled slightly. They were all starving and eager to get something to eat, _especially_ Natsu. At least Wendy could suck in air, though she suspected that their respective elements would only keep them alive for so long. Natsu had tried seeing if he could grab something to cook for them, but the Marked following them had scared off all of the wildlife.

"Maybe," Natsu commented, wrinkling his nose after inhaling deeply to see what scents he could get. "There's not much I'm smelling...mostly just the Marked."

Wendy tried as well, but ended up simply sneezing when she breathed in snow that was falling from the sky. "There's ash," she murmured, rubbing her nose desperately to clear it. "Something must be on fire again." She cast Natsu a look, looking surprisingly like Charle in that moment.

"I didn't do it this time," Natsu protested, pouting. "You guys were with me the entire time. You know it wasn't me."

Lucy smiled before shaking her head, examining a lock of blonde hair. In all of her life, she didn't think she'd been as dirty as she was at that moment. She wanted a nice hot bath, but she doubted that would ever happen again. Not that she cared if she got a bath or not, so long as the two dragon slayers accompanying her survived…

A thought struck her. "Hey...do you think it's possible to see what's left of my apartment?"

"Why not?" Natsu shrugged, dooming her hand to freeze alongside the other one when he released it and laced his fingers together behind his head, onyx eyes studying the empty town. "If any of 'em show up, I'll blast them. I wanna check where my place is anyways...might still be standing since it wasn't completely in Magnolia."

Wendy sighed. "I don't think there's a point to checking Fairy Hills," she said with a look of disappointment upon her young face. Her hazel eyes lifted to survey Magnolia again. "It was destroyed along with the guildhall."

"We'll stop there anyways," Lucy said firmly, "We'll check and see if there's anything left...besides. Levy might have left some kind of book that'll help us in that crazy library of hers."

"I don't think so," Wendy mumbled. "She would have found it before we had to leave the area…"

Silently agreeing with the sky dragon slayer yet not saying so, Lucy's hand dropped to the empty keyring at her hip. Her heart ached at the realization that what had once been a comforting motion would only bring a sorrowful pain, and she hurried to jerk her hand away. No point in dwelling over what couldn't be changed. Not now, at least.

"C'mon," Natsu said suddenly, starting forward. Lucy wrapped an arm around Wendy's shoulders, keeping her close as they silently entered what had once been Magnolia. Natsu guided them with care, jerking them out of view when one of the Marked slid past, nearly tripping over its own limbs with its gracelessness. Black spittle bubbled at the corners of its stretched mouth, dripping and dribbling along the ground, and Lucy wanted to be sick when she thought she saw the creature dragging the rotting arm of some poor victim from weeks ago along behind it.

Wendy slapped a hand over her nose and mouth, looking just as sick as the celestial mage felt at this sight. When it had rounded a corner and disappeared into a dark alleyway, Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm and propelled her forward quickly, leaving Wendy to hurry along behind them. "Hurry," he said lowly, "I can hear a couple of 'em coming this way."

Lucy scrambled forward, recognizing where she was now. The canal was there, right beside them. Once full of clean fresh water and lined with the stones she'd walked along, the canal was now practically black from the ash that had fallen into it. It had risen a foot or so, and she suspected that it had been clogged somewhere. She didn't even want to begin looking at the strange lumps that floated by on occasion.

 _There!_ She zoned in on her apartment. Upon reaching the door - or the lack of, as it looked like it had been torn off the hinges - and making sure there was nothing in the immediate entry way, they slipped inside. Lucy grimaced as she took in the smashed stairs that led up to her apartment. Not cool, she thought before carefully picking her way up them.

"Hold on, Luce," Natsu called quietly. "Might be something up there waiting to see if we're coming in."

She grimaced. "Right," she murmured, squeezing back to let him pass. Only a few moments later, the dragon slayer was back, reporting that it was safe for them to go upstairs. Lucy helped Wendy over a rather largely destroyed on the stairs, getting a shiver when she noticed the darkness within it. _Note to self. We're going out the window._

She instinctively went to search for the key to unlock the door that led into her apartment, but realized she no longer had it...nor had any need of it. There wasn't a door anymore, similar to the front. She slipped inside, stopping to take a look around.

A sound of disgust left the blonde's lips. The place had been completely and utterly trashed. There wasn't a single thing that hadn't been destroyed! Stepping over what was left of her front door, Lucy made her way over to a small dresser that had once held a multitude of pictures. A sad smile appeared on her lips when she realized the only three to make it were one of her and her parents when she was young, a picture that she remembered forcing Natsu to take with her, and one of all of their guildmates, taken at their last New Years party.

She took all three out of their broken frames and tucked them into her pocket.

Wendy went to shuffle through her kitchen with Natsu unsurprisingly. Lucy knew that though the young dragon slayer was far more polite, she had just as large an appetite as Natsu. Giggling to herself, Lucy took one look around her living room and grimaced. Where her friends had once gathered after breaking into her house was now destroyed. The couch had been torn to shreds, her curtains in ribbons, her coffee table smashed. Sighing, she moved on.

She went through each and every room, picking through the smallest of shards before finally entering her bedroom.

How did it not surprise her that despite the state of the covers, the pillows, and the mattress, Natsu had sprawled out on top of it? She was going to complain until she took in his disgusted expression. "What?"

He wrinkled his nose, pouting. "Your bed doesn't smell good anymore. And it's not comfy."

She blinked, then threw her head back and gave a small laugh. Only would Natsu complain about such matters when the world was ending. Forcing herself not to make fun of the sulking fire mage for this, she put her hands on her hips and said, "That's what happens when the Marked come through and tear my bed apart. Where's Wendy?"

"Kitchen still," he mused. "We found some food that hadn't been ruined and wasn't gross, so I let her have it."

"You gave up the food?" Shock raced across Lucy's face for a moment before she shook her head. Once upon a time, he would have been inhaling it before any of the rest of them even had a chance to ask for it. He shrugged. "Was there anymore that we could take with us?"

"No," he admitted. "But before we left with Gray and Juvia, I stocked up on food. There should be a good amount that didn't go bad as long as they didn't touch it."

"If they didn't touch your place," Lucy replied, "We're staying there for a while." She grimaced. "We're going to have to take turns keeping an eye out for the Marked throughout the night. They won't leave us alone forever."

"No," Natsu agreed grimly. "They won't. You done? We need to get there before it gets dark. We can try and check out Fairy Hills tomorrow."

"Yeah, just...one sec. You go get Wendy." Lucy smiled reassuringly at him when he hopped to his feet, searching her gaze with concern. "I'm fine, Natsu. I haven't had so much as even a hint of pain since the last time. I just want to see if I can find something my mother gave me before she died."

"...okay." Natsu ruffled her hair affectionately and she huffed, smacking at his hands.

"My hair is screwed up enough as it is, don't make it even worse," she pleaded. He only smirked, and she kicked at his shins as he strode past her. He responded with a playfully created wisp of flame that licked at her arm and then ducked out of the room.

Lucy shook her head. _Idiot._ She stepped over to the stand she'd once done makeup at, grimacing as she took in the mess. Sweeping aside some of the broken containers of makeup that continued to ooze what she didn't dare touch now. For all she knew, the Marked had contaminated it with some sort of disease.

 _There_. She zoned in on a small box, made of simple oak wood. Brushing shards of the broken mirror off of it and wincing when she nicked herself on them, she opened it.

Her soft smile vanished.

It was gone.

That was right. She'd packed everything she'd adored into that single suitcase only to lose it...but she'd left this. She _knew_ she'd left this, as a sign that she hoped she'd be returning home with things still as they should be.

Panicked now, ignoring the shards of glass and plastic that littered the surface, she swept the old makeup containers off the surface and onto the floor, ignoring the crashing sound that accompanied the motion. _No, no, no!_ This couldn't be happening! She _couldn't_ have lost this! There was no way!

"Lucy?!" Natsu was suddenly back, flames flickering up and down his arms. Wendy was right behind him, stopping a good foot or so behind him and peeking into the room with an anxious look. Upon realizing that there weren't any enemies attacking, the flames vanished. "Lucy, what the hell are you doing?!"

"I can't find it," she rasped, tossing the box over her shoulder. Natsu dove forward to catch it before it hit the ground and created more noise. "It's gone!"

Before she could shove anything else off, Natsu darted forward and grabbed her wrists. She tried to pull them free for a second before simply shaking her head, dropping her chin to her chest. "Lucy," he repeated, voice surprisingly gentle. "What can't you find?"

Lucy sucked in a shuddering breath. "Th-there was a...there was a comb…" She forced herself to take another calming breath, now working on prying his tight grip off of her wrists. Once sure she wouldn't make noise that would attract the attention of the Marked, he released her. "My mother g-gave it to me."

He blinked. "You mean this?" He held up a simple silver comb that held the engravings of stars and incredibly detailed keys. She gaped at him and he shrugged. "Found it under your bed when I was lookin' there."

She lunged forward, snatching it from his fingertips. "Thank you!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He staggered in surprise and Wendy giggled from where she was standing in the doorway. Hesitantly, Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and she beamed up at him when she pulled away. Her cheeks suddenly turned a brilliant flaming red. "I'm, uh, sorry. About panicking like that."

"So long as you didn't get the Marked to notice," he responded with a shrug. Wendy nodded her agreement. "As it is, we probably need to get moving. They'll have smelled us around by now. We may have to wait until tomorrow to go to my house."

"It might be safer to," Lucy agreed thoughtfully. They could camp out in the woods near the area and then skirt around Magnolia to get to Natsu's house. She'd been there a handful of times, and she remembered how isolated it was. A request on behalf of the citizens of Magnolia, who hadn't wanted his psychotic destruction habits to spread to their homes and businesses. She didn't understand why; he was generally able to keep the destruction to a minimal in the town, especially when he wasn't looking for a fight outside of the guildhall. "Did you find anything, Wendy?"

Wendy's lips curved up into a smile. "Natsu let me have the food we found...it was some canned fruit."

"I was going to make a fruit salad when we got back," Lucy sighed wistfully before returning the smile. "I'm glad you found the cans, though." She tucked the comb into her pocket alongside the pictures, patting it before turning to Natsu with a firm look. "Okay, let's get going before it gets dark. It'll be damn near impossible to fight at night, even with you around to keep us safe."

Natsu nodded his agreement and started for the front door, then stopped, sniffing intently. His nose wrinkled up and he quickly backtracked, waving for Wendy to keep close and not make any noise.

Lucy tensed when she saw why, and Wendy had to stifle a terrified whimper, hiding behind them. A large Marked one had entered the building, hissing softly to itself as it slid into the room across from them. It dribbled black saliva in its wake, its eyes searching the room with care before turning to rip a cabinet from the wall.

Natsu nudged Lucy back and the blonde pulled Wendy after them, eyes never leaving the Marked one. The second it tore another thing off the wall, he quickly reached behind them and over the bed to open the window he'd once climbed through so often, using the loud sounds to hide the ones he made. The Marked paused for a second, inhaling sharply, and then suddenly jerked its head around with a snarling hiss, ready to launch itself after them. But it only discovered the empty space where the three had been moments before, an open window allowing a breeze to rush through the empty room.

* * *

"Natsu, slow down," Lucy pleaded as she was dragged and dragged Wendy in return. She and the younger dragon slayer exchanged nervous looks as Natsu jerked them past the last building in the town. "You're tiring us out!"

"That thing will come looking," Natsu growled, "We have to keep moving."

"Okay," Lucy snapped, "But you're killing my arm! It hurts!"

He skidded to a stop, releasing her almost immediately, and the celestial mage rubbed her wrist with a wince before saying firmly, "Thank you. Look. Natsu. You need to calm down. Running around is going to more than likely bring them to us, not keep them away." Wendy hastily nodded her agreement. "We need to find a safe area and stay there for the night. Then we can head back to your house tomorrow, okay? Natsu! Are you listening?"

"Yeah," he muttered, eyes darting around. He didn't look happy, but he nodded his agreement. He'd hunt down a safe area for them to rest in.

It didn't take them long. The Marked were staying out of the woods for some reason - Lucy found herself hopeful that maybe they would have stayed away from Natsu's home - and it allowed them to rest easy for the time being. As soon as Natsu had set up a blazing campfire to keep them warm, Lucy turned on Wendy. "I want to see your Marks," she said firmly. "I want to see how far they've progressed."

Wendy bit her lip. "Okay," the small girl said nervously after a moment. She pulled her arm out of the jacket she'd been wearing, holding her arm out for Lucy to look at. Natsu peered over the blonde's shoulder suspiciously.

"...this is it?" Lucy looked stunned. "This should have...from the rate the others' Marks were moving, yours should have increased a lot by now, Wendy. Your entire arm at least should be covered…" She studied the single streak that had curled itself around Wendy's wrist and just barely begun reaching for higher.

Natsu studied the Mark, and Lucy swatted him away when he tried to rest his chin on her shoulder rather than just looking over it. The celestial mage was busy, and she didn't need him in her way. "Maybe there's something we can do to get rid of 'em completely then."

"No," Lucy answered, shaking her head. "I don't think so...when Rogue had the Marks, his sped up drastically because of the fact that his magic was based around darkness. The same went for Gajeel after Gajeel used the Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. Maybe Wendy's are slowed because her magic centers around healing...and if her's slows, I'll bet my life on Sting's being slowed down, too."

Natsu snorted. "That's not fair," he complained. "Everyone else had to deal with them normally."

"Stop complaining," Lucy said darkly, hitting the back of his head as hard as she could with an angry expression. "You don't have the Marks, and it better stay that way, got it?"

He winced, rubbing the spot she'd struck. "Yeah, yeah."

"Good." Lucy gently patted Wendy's head with a bright smile. "I'm glad. That means you'll be around for a while yet, hm?"

Wendy looked pleased. "I've been thinking about trying to use my magic to see if I could get rid of it," she admitted. "I didn't know if it would make it speed up or not though…"

"You've got nothing to lose, so try it."

"Natsu!" Lucy cried in outrage, smacking his arm sharply.

He only frowned. "What? It's true. There's nothing we could possibly lose. And stop hitting me, that hurts."

"Weakling," Lucy muttered before reassuringly touching Wendy's cheek. "Don't try it unless you want to, okay, Wendy? You can, but only if you want to." She glared over her shoulder at Natsu, her mind reeling at his words. This wasn't like him. Before any of this had begun, he would have _never_ said such things, purposely making his nakama hurt more than they already did!

Wendy searched Lucy's dark eyes, her own determined. "I think I want to," she said softly. "If I can heal myself, then we can find Jellal and Sting and fix them, too."

"Maybe," she agreed.

The trio of Fairy Tail mages fell silent, and the only sound that filled the air was that of a crackling fire.

* * *

 _Some bright news despite the mess going on! :D I hope you enjoyed reading, and thanks to reviewers (Become's one with the story, mariahcarmichael.3, LegendaryWolf129, OgaxHilda, Kinsutenekochan, and passionate-4 -love) and thank you for the follows and favorites!_


	18. Chapter 17

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Tearing a nice-sized piece off of the fish, she popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly and savoring the taste despite the lack of spices they'd run out of the day before. Her dark eyes darted over to the one sitting close enough beside her that his knee was brushing hers, and a look of disgust appeared on the young woman's face. "Natsu," she complained, "Slow down already. I know you're hungry, but you're going to make your stomach hurt by eating that fast."

Wendy nodded her agreement from where she was nibbling at her own fish, the black Marks that danced across her face showing clearly in the fire that they'd built in the fireplace. "Be careful," the sky dragon slayer agreed. "If you get sick, we could get into trouble, Natsu. I can't make you _not_ sick."

He pouted. "Don't team up on me, that's not fair," he accused before swallowing an entire fish whole.

"It's really kind of disgusting," Lucy said bluntly.

He only shot her a smug look as he shoved a third fish into his mouth.

It had been three weeks since they'd surveyed what was left of Lucy's home. In that time, they'd made a base out of Natsu's - thankfully untouched - house, where food was _still_ surprisingly abundant despite the fact that she was housed with two dragon slayers. She knew he'd been upset upon discovering some of the things Happy had used to use, but he hadn't shown any signs of it, instead gently tucking them away somewhere safe. Wendy had worked hard on her own Marks, but had had no success, and was incredibly disappointed.

In the three weeks they'd been there, Lucy had had only one attack, which she believed to mean Jellal had taken his own life in the same way Erza had. It couldn't have been Sting, not after how long it was taking for the Marks to spread across Wendy. When it had happened, she'd been shocked. It had been quite some time since she'd had an attack, and she had nearly forgotten that Jellal and Sting had still been running around. Natsu had been concerned and had stubbornly made her sleep in his raggedy hammock for the rest of the night after that rather than on the floor with him, where she usually slept since Wendy usually occupied the hammock.

"Who do you think would win?" her dragon slayer asked suddenly, looking exceptionally curious. "Erza or Gildarts?"

And on to their latest game. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lucy fought the urge to politely tell him to shut up. "Gildarts."

"Nah," he said smugly. "Erza."

"You think every answer I give is wrong," Lucy pointed out.

"Eh," the dragon slayer said with a shrug. "You are."

"...jerk," she muttered, and Wendy only giggled, her dark eyes full of amusement. Deciding she wasn't hungry anymore, Lucy offered Wendy the remainder of her food and pulled back, popping her neck. The movement made her wince when pain flared up in her back, reminding her.

The mark on her back was so close to being completed, she was utterly terrified. The only three keeping it from going in such a way was Natsu, Sting, and Wendy, she was sure of it. She paused at the thought. How ironic that the three still alive other than herself were dragon slayers. Perhaps she should have gone when Natsu had been forced to use CPR to keep her alive...would have saved him a lot of trouble, that was for sure…

No. She couldn't think that way. He'd be furious if he knew she was thinking in such a way.

Sighing heavily, Lucy shook her head to clear it. She glanced out a nearby window, and then determined it was late enough that she could get some sleep. There days weren't busy, and it was a challenge finding something other to do besides sleeping.

But it didn't seem she'd be getting some rest yet, as Natsu playfully pinched her arm, letting flames lick at her flesh gently. "C'mon, Luce, don't be so boring."

"I'm tired," she said with a huff, but shoved at him in return. Wendy giggled as she watched the two, her eyes sparkling. Natsu grinned playfully and set to work on tickling the celestial mage, who shrieked and laughed, hysterically trying to get away from him when he gave a devilish smirk. "Natsu!" she cried as she discovered she couldn't scramble back further, stopped by a wall. "No! Stop!" Her protests became laughter as he pounced, running his fingers up and down her sides mercilessly. The young blonde thrashed to try and escape, a grin on her face.

"Never," Natsu teased, smirking.

She giggled again when he focused on the ticklish flesh at her ribs, but the giggles and laughter quite suddenly turned into screams and shrieks of fear when a clawed gray hand suddenly slammed through the wood only inches above her head. Natsu swore, ripping back to avoid being touched as a snarl echoed from the other side of the wall. Wendy gave a cry when the window shattered, dropping her fish in favor of fleeing hide behind a messy couch.

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath when the claws just barely left a nick on her nose. Natsu swung her out of reach, careful not to hurt her as he did so, and she stumbled as he jerked her to her feet, crashing into him with a gasp. "N-Natsu," she choked out, shock sending her into a numbness she couldn't figure out how to get rid of.

The Marked One ripped its hand out of the wood with a furious howl, enraged that it hadn't succeeded in grabbing one of them. Lucy shuddered, relieved it hadn't. Natsu gave a low sound that rumbled deep in his throat, flames roaring to life to surround them. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed, shocked. She swiped at the trickle of blood, then tensed when the Marked One howled again, throwing itself through the wall of the house. Lucy threw an arm up to keep the wood that splintered from striking her face, and Natsu merely burned any that tried to touch him.

"Guess we're not staying here anymore," he muttered.

"Guess not," she gasped.

Natsu shoved her towards where the whimpering sky dragon slayer was taking shelter. "Grab Wendy and get out of here. _Now._ " He inhaled sharply as she did as he ordered, diving for Wendy, grabbing the younger girl's arm and hauling her out of hiding.

"Come on, Wendy," she said urgently, shaking her gently to get her attention. Wendy's terrified eyes met hers. "We need to get out before Natsu burns the entire place down, okay?"

"Y-yeah," she rasped, taking Lucy's offered hand. Without further thought, the two darted for the door as Natsu finally unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar that sent the entire place ablaze within seconds. While the flames seared at the two, they didn't burn them like the Marked One, who screamed in agony as it was enveloped in them.

The flaming door they'd been about to exit, however, suddenly exploded inwards. Wendy screamed and Lucy only grunted as a large piece slammed into the blonde, sending her sprawling, pinned momentarily beneath the heavy wood. When she desperately tried to shove it off, pain rocketed through her leg, and she swore when she realized that her leg was a mess, her ankle looking way different than the other from where the edge had slammed into it. "Natsu!"

The Marked One that had broken down the door lunged forward, aiming for Wendy, but didn't seem to expect that she was capable of retaliating. Wendy sucked in air, and Lucy was momentarily light-headed as she took the oxygen and spun it into a powerful Sky Dragon's Roar that shredded the creature into small scraps of flesh and blood that spattered the door.

Wendy grimaced. "Oops."

Lucy wanted to gag, but didn't have the time to. Instead, she was forced to duck to avoid a tunnel of flames that went roaring at the Marked One that slid in next. "Lucy?" Natsu gasped, dropping beside her. He shoved the wood off of her, and Wendy hovered beside him when the celestial mage gave a moan of pain. "Are you okay?"

"Do I _look_ okay?" she groaned. She forced herself to study her leg, her head spinning when she saw it.

She did _not_ need to know that there was bone showing.

"Sorry," Natsu muttered, then scooped her up. She bit back a shriek, biting her lip so hard it bled. How long had it been since she'd been hurt outside of the attacks she had?

"Be careful," Wendy warned as he ducked out of the blazing house. She followed, careful not to brush against him as she took dainty steps over the bloody mess she'd left behind. "Don't let it touch anything...oh!" Her eyes went wide. "She's bleeding a lot...Natsu, stop for a moment, you need to-"

Something threw itself out of the darkness that had fallen and Natsu staggered back with a curse. He gently placed the celestial mage on the ground, patting her head affectionately. "See if you can get her healed a little, Wendy. I'll protect you guys."

"Thank you," she said earnestly.

The sky dragon slayer went to work on healing Lucy's leg and ankle as best as she could in the short amount of time provided, her hands trembling as she fought to remain calm. Lucy's head was spinning, the roars of Natsu's flames swirling over their heads as he kept the Marked that lunged at them away. "Hurry up, Wendy!" he shouted over the noise.

"I'm trying," she said desperately, her eyes round with panic now. "I...I can't…"

Lucy forced herself to smile faintly, her face pale. "It's alright. You did your...you did your best," she slurred out, pain making it hard to get what she wanted to say out. Why did it always happen to her?! She was glad it hadn't been Natsu or Wendy, but still!

"I can't heal her!" Wendy called, staring at her hands with fear. They were covered in the black Marks, and her eyes snapped wide with realization as it hit her. "The Marks...they've stopped my magic!"

"It's okay," Natsu reassured her, jumping over. He studied her expression for a moment, gaze reassuring. "Come on, we need to get out of here...sorry, Luce!" Her answer was a groan as he gently picked her up, careful not to touch her injured leg. "You can try again after we've gotten to safety, Wendy."

"...okay," she said, her voice small. The small blue-haired girl scurried after him as Natsu dove forward, flames enveloping all three of them in an attempt to keep them safe. Lucy weakly rested her head against his shoulder, her vision darkening even more with each flash of pain that ran through her.

 _"Come on, Luce,"_ Natsu breathed into her ear, ducking to avoid an attack. _"You can do it. Almost there. Hold on just a bit longer."_

She was trying. But it was hard.

 _"Lucy?!"_

She was...attempting.

 _"Luce!"_

Nothing.

* * *

Many things went by in a blur after that. Lucy found herself falling in and out of consciousness, barely able to keep up. One moment there were flames roaring over her head, the next Wendy was screaming desperately at her to _wake up_ because they were surrounded. Another flash of darkness and then pain like no other as an attack ripped through her, and she _screamed_ in agony when it tore through her, threatening to rip her open from the inside out. Another moment and Natsu was staring down at her, face streaked with blood, his onyx eyes panicked as he tried to wake her, shouting at her to stay awake.

 _"Come on,"_ he pleaded, whispering the words into her ears as Wendy screamed out her attack, a massive Sky Dragon's Roar blasting an attacker away. The young girl sounded exhausted. _"Stay with me, Luce. Please!"_

"Here," she managed to choke out, biting back a scream when another ripple of pain tore through her body. "I'm here." _For now._ She couldn't guarantee how long she'd be awake at this point. Especially as another wave of pain flooded her.

And then the attack was gone, and Lucy was left a mess on the ground as her two companions fought above her, struggling to protect her.

Her head was spinning.

Her mind was racing.

Her heart was thudding painfully in her chest.

Voices were screaming in her mind.

And she couldn't handle it.

She gave up.

* * *

She awoke again, this time to utter silence, darkness all around her. Her brow furrowed into a look of confusion. She couldn't feel anything. There was absolutely _nothing_. No sound, no sight, not even a single hint of something brushing against her cold skin. She was alone, too, and it made her heart clench with fear.

 _Where am I?!_

Where was Natsu!? Wendy?! She needed them! _Now!_

 **"Hush."**

Her mind came to a complete stop, silenced by the gravely voice as it thundered across her ears.

 **"You are safe."**

Obviously not! If she was safe, then where were Natsu and Wendy?

A chuckle filled her ears. **"You are safe, and will remain so until they are."**

Just what the hell was that supposed to mean?! Anger flooded her, and the chuckle came again, this time with a dark undertone. Angry, she demanded to know who was talking to her, who was making decisions for her. What right did they have!

Amusement filled the rumbling voice. **"I am the one who breathed the magic into his belly. I am the flames that keep him going. I am the dragon that raised him as my own."**

Her mind went blank with shock.

. _..Igneel?_

The voice roared its laughter at her, and Lucy listened to the rumbling sound in wonder. _So this is what a dragon sounds like…_ Silently, she realized she wished she could see the massive creature. She wanted to meet the dragon that had raised the dragon slayer she adored.

 **"Not yet,"** he murmured, the sound gentle despite it's volume. **"You are safe here, protecting just as I am. You are not protected within your own mind, so I have taken it upon myself to protect you as you protect in return."**

...well, at least she knew where Natsu got his way with words from. She had _no_ clue what the dragon meant.

 **"Your mind is ill,"** Igneel said, his voice still as soft as before. **"And until it has healed enough to support you, you are to remain here. I will not let my son's chosen perish."**

 _...okay._ She was tired. Igneel made no sense. But she was too tired to even continue trying to understand what he meant, or get flustered over what he'd called her. _Thank you._ The dragon only roared his laughter, and Lucy thought for the briefest of moments that she felt warm breath brush over her, giving her the strength to wake up just a bit more. But it was hard to say in such a way in the darkness around her.

 **"You are strong enough."**

 _...huh?_

And just like that, the celestial mage found herself standing in a bright world. It was warm, encompassing her in a gentle way, and Lucy found herself relaxing despite the strangeness of it all. As she blinked the brightness away, she realized she was surrounded by a field of tall golden grass. The sky above her was clear and her favorite shade of blue, with a sun beaming gently down at her. "...where…?"

 **"Welcome."**

Lucy whirled around, and her heart very nearly stopped beating in her chest - again.

There, towering above her with a smug little look, was what couldn't be anything but a dragon. The massive creature's nostrils released a cloud of smoke with every breath, the sun making its scales shine a brilliant flaming color. Scars crossed lightly across its face, and Lucy recognized the white that began under his chin and ran under his body to the very tip of his tail. This _had_ to be Igneel.

"Igneel," she breathed.

The dragon seemed to almost purr, the rumbling sound leaving his throat as he ducked that massive head down to look closely at her. Lucy trembled at the heat that radiated off of him, reminding her of the flames Natsu so easily breathed. _This_ was the power of a dragon. _This_ was the creature that had raised Natsu and taught him all he knew.

But how was she meeting with Igneel when he'd disappeared so long ago?

 **"Natsu,"** Igneel rumbled, peering curiously at her, **"Has chosen well."**

"Uh...sure," Lucy said uncertainly. "Whatever you say...where are we? Where's Natsu?" Heaven forbid she saw the fire dragon and he didn't! "Are they...are they okay?"

 **"Of course."** Igneel snorted, his massive head raising to look up at the sky. Lucy copied, cranking her head back. Her eyes widened as ash began to fall around them, sprinkling the golden field around them. **"Your time is running out, Lucy Heartfilia."**

Lucy's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

 **"You cannot remain here for very long,"** the dragon explained. **"The strength it takes is too much for you to handle...and your mind has healed enough. Do** _ **not**_ **give up again. Protect my son, celestial mage. He can only remain strong for so long."**

And just like that, her eyes snapped open. Flames still blistered at the air around her, searing but not burning her. Wendy's Sky Dragon's Roar blasted alongside, creating a massive whirlwind of fire that the Marked that had gathered to fight them recoiled away from. She swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the pain in her leg and chest. She had to stay awake. It was necessary. She couldn't survive if she didn't, and she refused to leave Natsu and Wendy alone.

She would obey Igneel, even if the dragon had been a pain-induced illusion. She would not give up. Not unless she was the last one left.

Natsu gave an enraged roar as one of the Marked Ones leaped forward, lunging at her. "Lucy!" he shouted in a panic as he dove forward to intercept the creature. But it was too fast and Lucy stared up at it in shock as it towered above her, already moving to tear her throat out with disgustingly stained sharp teeth.

Her eyes narrowed.

She would _not_ let this creature be the death of her! And so, she slammed her hands against its chest, snarling the incantation as quickly as she could:

" _Survey the heavens. Open the heavens._

 _All the Stars, far and wide,_

 _show me thy appearance_

 _with such shine!_

 _Oh, Tetrabiblos,_

 _I am the ruler of the stars._

 _Aspect become complete._

 _Open they malevolent gate._

 _Oh, eighty-eight Stars of the heaven!_

 _Shine!_

 _ **Urano Metria!**_ _"_

Silently, as Lucy fought desperately to remain awake, the celestial mage found herself thanking Loke for taking the time to completely train her to use such an attack. The orbs that had began to appear throughout the incantation stopped, then suddenly slammed into the Marked One and a few others at full force.

Natsu was above her in an instant, searching her gaze. "Lucy?" he asked, dropping down to kneel beside her, gently touching her cheek to get her attention. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed, smiling tiredly and wincing as she tried to sit up. "I'm fine. We need to get out of here. Now."

"Right," he muttered. "Hold on. Wendy! You needed something to stop the bleeding for now, right?"

Wendy paused to nod, then ducked to avoid a swipe of a Marked One's claws. Lucy smiled faintly, proud of the young dragon slayer. She was doing a damn good job at keeping herself out of trouble.

"Here," Natsu muttered, shoving something familiar into Lucy's hands. "Help her, Wendy, I'll keep them off of your back." Wendy gave a curt nod, hopping back to tend to Lucy's leg as he stepped forward, flames flickering violently along his fists.

"Hold on, Lucy," Wendy said confidently. "This will hurt...I have to set your ankle, okay? If you have to, bite the scarf," she added, nodding at the scarf in Lucy's hands. "Don't scream, it only excites them."

"Right," Lucy mumbled, tightening her hands around the soft material. Her knuckles went white the second Wendy's gentle fingers brushed against her flesh and she found herself having to muffle a scream of pain when she began to straighten it. Natsu spared a worried glance back before ducking to avoid a swipe.

He smirked. "These things are ridiculous," he muttered, easily avoiding another attack. "They're weak...but there's a lot of them, so it's hard…"

"Just stop talking and fight," Lucy moaned, spots filling her vision.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting screech that had both dragon slayers slamming their hands over their ears. The temperature around them spiked as Natsu fought to keep the fire hot enough to incinerate the creatures the second they tried to get near any of them. But after fighting for so long and protecting them with his fire, it wasn't nearly the temperature it needed, and he momentarily lost control of the flames when exhaustion slammed into him. Lucy winced as it singed at her, then gave a cry of "Look out!" when one of the Marked squealed happily and threw itself at Natsu, fangs bared with saliva dripping wildly.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, ignoring the pain in her leg and ankle to try and scramble closer, but Wendy got there first. The sky dragon slayer wore a determined look as she threw herself between the two.

It was as if time slowed, and Lucy could only watch with horror written across her face as the youngest dragon slayer in Fairy Tail was taken down in a matter of seconds. The Marked One only grinned, not slowing as it slammed the clawed hand through her small chest. Wendy grunted in pain, but only glared at the creature, her eyes ablaze with anger. "Don't...don't touch...Natsu," she growled.

The Marked One made a sound that was suspiciously alike to laughter, ripping its hand back. Lucy stiffened, quivering at the sight of a lump of muscle still beating weakly in its grip. Wendy crumpled, eyes staring blankly at nothing.

"Wendy," Lucy breathed, tears gathering in her eyes. Natsu reeled away, looking shocked at the fact that the young girl had just gotten herself killed to save him.

And then he _roared_.

Flames exploded into existence, creating an inferno as they surrounded them. Lucy cringed under the heat, covering her head when a tree cracked and began to fall, striking the ground just a few inches from where she sat. She gave a cry, recoiling, and it was only an instant later that Natsu was there, kicking it away and sending a few of the Marked flying away. They only howled in rage and came swarming back, furious.

Lucy hugged herself, protectively hiding her face in her lap to try and fend off the heat, but Natsu hauled her up. "Lucy," he whispered into her ear, his grip on her arms almost bruisingly harsh. "We have to go. Wendy's...gone, you're going to...you're going to have an attack. We have to get away _now_ -"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before the celestial mage had doubled over, giving a small cry of pain. One hand clutched Natsu's scarf, the other the jacket that she remembered him wearing the day they met. Natsu groaned in frustration, fire puffing out of his mouth in his anger. "Damn it," he hissed, protectively pulling her into his arms and standing, making sure she didn't lose his scarf in the process by tying it around her neck. "Hold on, Luce, I gotta get us to safety, okay?"

Her only answer was a sob of pain as the fire raced through her veins, her head lolling weakly against his shoulder. He glanced back at Wendy's body, grimacing when he caught sight of one of the Marked Ones ripping into her small body with bared teeth, lifting its head to grin at them with a bloody face. Natsu growled in response, the strange sound rumbling deep in his chest, and he forced himself to turn and start jogging forward, nearly too exhausted to use the remainder of his magic to keep the Marked that tried to lunge after him away. But he managed, and within moments, the Marked were gone, leaving them to hide among the trees.

"N-Natsu," Lucy gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks as she fought to breathe. "We can't...we have to...have to go back, and…"

"We can't," he mumbled, pressing his nose into the blonde's hair as he reluctantly dropped down to sit among the roots of a tree, surprising her by panting for breath. "We can't go back and get her. She's gone."

"I know that," Lucy groaned, tensing as an aftershock rippled through her. At least the acidic pain was going away...for now. Natsu scowled darkly, then looked down at her. "You okay?"

"No," he mumbled, and she snorted in response. He a hint of a smile flashed momentarily across his face and he tightened his grip around her momentarily. "We need to fix your ankle, Luce. I don't think I can do it, though...I don't do that kinda stuff. I just...light it on fire."

"You're going to have to," she said faintly, looking sick at the thought. "I can't do it Natsu...I'll tell you what to do and how to do it, okay? And you can't stop in the middle of it." Lucy had to thank Wendy for instructing her on how to do such things months before any of this had begun, thinking it would come in handy in the future. It certainly had.

His eyes flashed to hers, panic filling him. "Lucy, I-"

"We'll be dead if we don't fix it and let it heal," Lucy said bluntly, "So if you're not going to help me out here, you might as well start walking now." She winced at the sharp tone she used, forcing him to pay attention to what she was saying. But if she did it, she would pass out, and at least this way she wouldn't have to look at the ankle as it was being set.

"...okay," he mumbled at last. His fingers were gentle and warm as he melted the snow away from the ground, shifting her out of his lap and onto the now warm space. Still, Lucy shivered, hugging herself against the cold, trembling as another aftershock rippled through her. Natsu moved on to examine the wound with a nervous look.

She took a deep breath, then let it whoosh out with a sigh. "Okay," she breathed. "Let's do this," she murmured to herself. Aloud, she began to instruct Natsu. "Remember, don't stop…"

* * *

 _Yay! Next Chapter! So Wendy's gone. :( I like Wendy, she's one of my favorites. ANYHOW! Thank you so much to reviewers (Become's one with the story, Kinsutenekochan, LegendaryWolf129, Ayrmed, and rrrrRANDOMmm), and thanks to those who favorited and followed! You're all awesome! :) See you on Monday!_


	19. Chapter 18

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

"Need any help?"

"No, Natsu, I'm fine. I can make it up a hill myself, believe me. I'd tell you if I couldn't."

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes_ , Natsu, I'm su- _re_!" She squealed in surprise as her her feet slid out from under her and she went sliding back in the direction they'd come from, tumbling head over heels. Natsu stared after her for just a brief moment before bursting into laughter as she sat up, swiping the thick fluffy snow from her face. Lucy glared up at him. "What are you laughing at, you jerk?"

Natsu gave her one of his famous Natsu-esque grins. "Nothing, Luce. Nothing at all."

"That's what I thought," she muttered, climbing to her feet and brushing herself off. Lucy paused to look around them, instinctively checking for any signs of the Marked, but found nothing and shrugged to herself, scowling as Natsu easily slid back down to the bottom. "Jerk," she added when he playfully blew a wisp of flames into her face. She swatted at them to avoid catching her hair on fire. "Natsu!"

He only smirked.

It had been close to two months since they'd lost Wendy. Two months since it had become just she and Natsu. Two months since her last attack...no, that was a lie. She'd had another a few days after Wendy's death, and she and Natsu suspected that Sting had gone completely crazy, joining the Marked.

In that time, they'd been traveling around, checking each town and village and city only to discover almost every single one of them were completely and utterly destroyed, with dried blood still staining smashed buildings and things covered in snow in the streets. Lucy never looked closely at those things. She had no wish to see any more bodies for the time being.

They'd become closer, too. Natsu rarely left her side - and she was glad he didn't. She couldn't have managed without him. It wasn't often that they weren't hand-in-hand when casually walking, and he'd taken to trying to teach her how to fight in close combat, using the magic that could no longer be used to summon spirits to drive her attacks. It would be useful, as she couldn't be affected by the strange Marks, and she didn't have any distance attacks or weapons.

The celestial mage still had problems with her ankle and leg on occasion. It hadn't healed as well as she'd hoped, though that was no fault of Natsu's. They'd been on the constant move, and even when he'd carried her, it hadn't kept her from developing a permanent limp when the injury didn't heal properly.

Which brought her back to her current position.

"Could you stop laughing and help me?" she grumbled, and he smirked, taking her hand lightly and helping her up the steep icy slope. Lucy wished desperately that the winter would end already. She thought she was going to lose her fingers and toes half the time, and it was very rarely that the two of them were able to get into some sealed up building to shelter for the night.

As the time had gone by, the Marked had slowly but surely begun to get more and more aggressive. They'd come after the two often, choosing the middle of the night when it was harder to see what they were fighting to launch their attacks. If it wasn't for Natsu's insane hearing and sense of smell, Lucy knew without a doubt they would have been dead.

He was still snickering when they reached the top of the hill, and Lucy didn't hesitate to turn and push him back down it, watching with a smug little smirk on her face as he hit the bottom with a yelp. "That's what you get!" she hollered, cupping her hands around her mouth and blowing onto them to try and warm her bare fingers.

"That wasn't fair!" he cried back, giving her a pout, his pink hair dusted with white. He tugged at the scarf on his neck, adjusting it, and Lucy felt a flash of jealousy. When it wasn't needed for holding the makeshift splint she'd made on, he'd taken it back. She hadn't dared to ask to use it just yet. Yeah, they were together, but that didn't mean he'd be willing to share his most precious possession.

She hated to admit it, but Jellal had been right. Without other people to keep safe, it was easier to avoid the Marked, or hide when they decided to swarm the area in packs. Natsu didn't have to worry as much if they were forced into a fight, because not only could she now fight alongside him - sort of, anyways - but it was only one person he had to concern himself with guarding.

Despite the improvements, Lucy still found herself grieving over her Celestial Spirits. She missed them horribly. Their keys had always been a comfort to her, and they were now gone. She and Natsu were alone in a horrible and violent world. If she lost Natsu, too...she shook her head to clear that thought away immediately.

 _No._ Natsu wasn't going anywhere. _Never_. He'd promised as much.

The dragon slayer scampered back up to stand beside her and Lucy smiled smugly at him when he stuck his tongue out at her in a childish way. "That wasn't fair," he repeated in an accusing voice.

"Then you shouldn't laugh when I need help climbing a hill," the celestial mage retorted playfully, flicking his arm before crossing her arms to fend off the chill of the upcoming evening. "Come on. We need to start finding some place to rest before night falls completely...and I want you to set up a fire. I'm freezing."

He frowned, taking in her appearance. "There's nothing to eat around here…"

"I'll see if I can get a second fire started for you," she said simply.

It was easy for Natsu. Yes, he required normal food, but if he was hungry, all they had to do was use the flint and steel pieces they'd gathered from what had remained of his home before leaving and he'd have food. Lucy, on the other hand, couldn't eat anything but normal food, and it was for that reason that they generally stuck close to the rare sources of fresh water they could find, where fish was abundant.

Natsu took on a pout that she recognized. A stubborn one that would mean he wasn't done with this conversation, and she hurried to say, "I'm not hungry, Natsu...my stomach's not feeling too good today."

He immediately looked even more concerned and she groaned when he demanded, "Are you sick? Was the fire hot enough last night? I can try and make it even hotter tonight if you want."

"You can't control the heat of the campfire, Natsu," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "It takes up too much of your energy and you know it."

"If you get sick, we could get into trouble," the fire mage mumbled, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "You can't just rest like you could before…" He shook his head, looking apologetic when Lucy grimaced at the reminder. So much for going the rest of the day without remembering all that they had lost.

"I know that," she said gently. "It's just as bad a situation if you do it though, maybe even worse, Natsu. They know when we've been using too much energy...that's when they start to come after us again."

"Stupid Marked," Natsu gritted out, looking frustrated, and she patted his shoulder soothingly before setting to work on hiking forward again, lacing her fingers with his and tugging him after her.

She couldn't help but murmur her agreement to those words.

They made their way through the forest, both keeping an eye out for a tree that would provide decent shelter or some kind of water they could camp out beside for the days to come. But they found nothing, and before they knew it, they were trampling through the snow in the dark.

"We need to stop," Lucy mumbled through her numb lips. "I'm cold."

Natsu glanced back at her, tugging the scarf away from his face. "...okay," he mumbled turning to face her. "You get the wood. I'm going to make sure the area's safe."

Panic flashed through her. "You're leaving me alone?"

Natsu scowled. "I'm not happy about it. But the last time I didn't, they attacked. I'll be careful as long as you are...don't go too far from here while you're getting the wood and fire going, okay? I'll make sure it's warmer than normal when I get back." He gave her his signature grin, and Lucy had to fight back the smile that wanted to show up when she saw that his hair was sticking up more than usual.

"...okay," she agreed reluctantly. "But hurry back, okay?"

"I will, I promise," he swore, ruffling her hair before bounding off, using his enhanced senses to check for the danger of the Marked despite the fact that the snow dampered the scents. Lucy watched after him with a look of distress, then limped her way over to where a particularly large branch was poking out of the snow. He would come back, she told herself, getting lost in her thoughts. He always came back.

He'd promised he would.

She'd just finished gathering up enough branches and fallen wood for two campfires - one for her and one for Natsu to devour - when a giggle filled her ears. She dropped all of the wood, wincing when it landed on her bad foot, and whirled around, a golden light swirling around her already balled fists in preparation.

Who she found shocked her, and Lucy dropped her magic and fists immediately, gaping. "...M-Mavis?" she breathed.

The First giggled again, tilting her head and smiling charmingly at Lucy, not looking the least bit bothered by the cold. "Lucy Heartfilia," she greeted cheerfully, her voice soft yet clear as a bell. Lucy blinked. It had been a while since she'd heard voices other than her own and Natsu's.

"What...what are you…?" Lucy was speechless.

Mavis' eyes became serious, the green color darkening and her smile fading as she let her gaze rove around the small area they'd chosen as the night's camping place. "You are in danger," she said simply. "I do not like my Fairies being harmed."

Anger struck the celestial mage's heart. "Then where have you been!?" she cried, throwing her arms out to indicate the empty space around her. "Where were you when everyone was-" She cut off, glaring at the small blonde girl, who merely tilted her head with a calm expression.

"I do not have much time with you," she murmured, "I would appreciate if you would listen to what I have to say, Lucy Heartfilia."

"Please stop putting my last name in there," Lucy sighed, unhappy with that. She didn't like being reminded of who she'd been affiliated with in the past, even if she _had_ come to terms with her father before his death...sort of. "What do you want to say then? Since you're here…" Hopefully Natsu wouldn't realize she was talking to someone and go into attack mode. Believing they were the only two alive had done _wonders_ for his urge to fight…

She really needed to cut back on her sarcasm towards the protective dragon slayer. It wasn't his fault he was a complete idiot most of the time...right?  
"You are aware," Mavis said softly, smiling gently as she held her hand out. A snowflake fell from the sky to land in the center of her palm, and she closed her hand around it, water seeming to cascade out of nowhere to flood along the ground, melting the snow around it. In the snow's place grew a single flower, as white as the snow around it. "Of the curse placed upon your back?"

"How could I forget?" Lucy muttered, reaching back to touch it and cringing. The pain increased with every single day, and she knew without a doubt that Natsu was worried about it, too. "What about it?"

Mavis smiled again, her green eyes sliding shut as she did so. "The curse holds you back, Lucy Heartfilia. Rid yourself of it, and remember your Celestial Spirit's words."

Lucy instinctively knew what she was talking about. "But...it hurts," she whispered. "It hurts to even try and remember."

"As I said," Mavis murmured, "The curse holds you back. You will have to push past it, ignore the pain, and remember." She lifted her eyes to stare firmly into Lucy's. "You are running out of time, Lucy Heartfilia. You don't have much left at all. I cannot tell you anything other than what I already have, or it will kill you. I'm sorry." She paused. "...I will fix your injury. And then I must leave." She waved her hand and Lucy blinked when the distant ache in her ankle vanished.

"...thank you, I guess," Lucy mumbled, still lost as to what the First meant by any of what she had said.

Mavis smiled with another small giggle before turning to leave...only to pause, her eyes fierce as she said, "Do not worry so much for Natsu Dragneel. He is safer than you believe...in the physical sense."

And then she was gone, as if she hadn't been there to begin with.

Lucy let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "What...just happened?" she breathed, frowning in confusion.

"Lucy!"

Her head snapped around at the familiar voice. "Natsu!" she called, smiling in relief as the dragon slayer darted into view. His eyes were narrowed, flames already flickering dangerously at his fingertips. She ignored them, touching his arm. "I'm alright."

He reluctantly relaxed. "I couldn't find you," he muttered, glaring around them. "What happened?"

Lucy furrowed her brow as she studied him, taking in his suspicious glare as he tucked her under his arm. She leaned against him, enjoying the warmth he provided as Mavis' words echoed through her mind.

 _"Do not worry so much for Natsu Dragneel. He is safer than you believe...in the physical sense."_

Did that mean Natsu couldn't get the Marks either? She hoped so. Because she did _not_ want to lose him to the Marks that had taken everyone else from them. As if reading her thoughts, his grip around her shoulders tightened and he pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head and glowering at nothing, as if he could chase the memory of what he had missed away.

Lucy didn't mind, but frowned. Couldn't he smell Mavis? He knew her scent...so why was he acting like _this_?

* * *

Her eyes snapped open and she was immediately rolling onto her stomach, relieved at the fresh coldness of the snow that hadn't melted away from where Natsu had curled up beside her. The dragon slayer blinked his eyes tiredly as he sat up, frowning at her. "Luce?"

She ignored him for a moment, panting for breath, fighting the urge to vomit on the ground in front of her as the sight repeated over and over in her mind. She couldn't get rid of the sight of the Marked One ripping Wendy's heart from her chest. She could remember every little detail of the moment Erza had plunged the blade into her own neck, the time Erza's blade had struck through Gray's neck with ease.

And she couldn't get rid of the little voice taunting in the back of her mind, _"You're going to lose it all! You're going to die a horrible lonely death!"_

She gave a shaky gasp, drawing in air. "N-Natsu," she managed to get out as she reached for her dragon slayer. He was adorably sleepy-looking as he pulled her against him, frowning down at her with confusion in his eyes. "Sorry," she breathed after she had taken a few moments to calm herself down. "I'm...I can't…" She shuddered.

Hesitant, he ran his hand along her back, frowning, and Lucy wanted to cry. What had happened? Where had they gone wrong? Why couldn't Natsu act like his normal self?! She just wanted her best friend (and boyfriend) back to the way he'd been before everything had gone to hell! She wanted everyone in Fiore alive again. She wanted her guild back, her nakama waiting on them to return from some mission they'd taken. She wanted Natsu destroying things unintentionally as he fought to take down their enemies alongside she and Happy. She wanted to talk with Levy over books they'd both recently gotten to enjoy.

Damn it, she wanted her _life_ back!

"Natsu," was the only thing she found herself whispering, crying into her hands.

He grimaced, looking uncertain as to how he was supposed to react to this development. "It'll be okay, Luce," he tried to comfort her, glancing around, straining his ears to listen for the Marked. "I promise. Just...go to sleep, okay? Get some more sleep. It'll be better when we wake up in the morning."

She only sobbed harder. "How can you say that? All of our nakama are dead! Nothing will _ever_ be okay!"

Natsu blinked. "We're still alive."

"I don't want to be," Lucy whispered, shaking her head.

She had chosen to not give up under Igneel's orders and Mavis' encouragement...but it was damn hard _not_ to in her current circumstances. The celestial mage had considered telling Natsu about her little "adventure" with Igneel, but had decided against it. Heaven knows how the dragon slayer would react to hearing that she'd met with the fiery dragon when he couldn't, and the same went for her meeting with Mavis. Something didn't sit right with her after his reaction upon returning.

The Natsu she knew _never_ forgot a scent, especially the scent of someone who had helped them so much.

A chilling thought ran through her mind. What if this wasn't _her_ Natsu? What if the Marked had figured out how to trick her? The thought had her clutching her head in a panic. _No_. That couldn't happen. She _needed_ the pink-haired boy who was so innocently struggling to help her feel better despite the death and destruction that had surrounded them for months.

Lucy took a shaky breath, forcing herself to sit up and calm down, leaning into the warmth that was Natsu. He mumbled something in her ear, but she pretended not to notice, not interested in the soothing words. She wanted so badly to get out of this world...hell, even Edolas would be better at this point! She'd rather be stuck in a world with different versions of her friends and no magic than alone in one full of it!

 _No,_ the celestial mage scolded herself. She wasn't alone. Natsu was right beside her. But if he went...she decided then and there that she would _not_ let herself live a long and lonely life in this world, running from the Marked. She would join her friends in whatever happened after you died, because she refused to be alone.

"Lucy?"

"I'm okay now," she breathed, looking anything but as she stared up at him with blank dark eyes. He took one look at them, then hugged her tightly, burying his face in her hair, and the celestial mage rested her head against his shoulder, tiredly closing her eyes.

They remained that way for the rest of the night, Lucy dozing lightly against his shoulder and Natsu keeping a watchful eye out for any sign of the Marked, worried that they might show up after the amount of noise Lucy had produced. The moment the morning came, the sun breaking over a cloudy horizon, he was gently shaking her awake.

"Luce," he whispered into her ear. "Time to get up. We need to get you some food today...your stomach was growling all night."

"Shut up," she grumbled, ignoring the smirk that flashed across his face as she swatted lazily at him. She stood with ease, brushing herself off out of habit rather than necessity. Natsu had melted any snow before it had touched them throughout the night. Lucy's mind distantly went to Mavis for the briefest of moments, and she shrugged. Mavis had told her to remember Loke's words. And she'd try.

Later, though, when there wasn't pain filling her mind while trying to do so.

Natsu looked disgusted as he forced himself to suck back up the fire he'd made for Lucy the night before, unhappy to be forced to re-consuming his own fire. Lucy felt a flash of sympathy for the poor guy; she knew he hated it, that it even hurt him. Kissing his cheek to try and show him she appreciated the fact that he was trying to conserve what they had, she laced her fingers with his. "Come on," she said softly, searching his onyx eyes for a brief moment. "We have to get going."

"Yeah," he muttered, looking serious rather than giving her a grin as he once would have.

Lucy closed her eyes with a soft sigh.

Yes. She definitely missed the old Natsu.

Lucy picked her way carefully over the rubble, pursing her lips together in a thoughtful look. "Natsu," she said thoughtfully, and the dragon slayer paused to wait for her, tugging his scarf down. "Don't go too far ahead...I'm not entirely good at fighting yet."

"I know," he reassured. "I'm not going anywhere. Just making sure nothing pops out to surprise us."

"Doesn't matter what we do," she grumbled in response, "They're going to come after us soon...it's been three days since their last attack. With how they've been lately, they won't wait much after before coming after us again, Natsu. Thanks," she added when he helped her over a particularly large bit.

Lucy hugged herself, drawing her hand away immediately. She didn't know why, but since Mavis' visit, she hadn't felt that he was trustworthy...something was wrong. Natsu was hiding something, and she was determined to figure out what. And he'd noticed her withdrawing from him. He'd demanded what was wrong with her earlier after they'd set out and she'd pulled away from him after an hour or so of silent walking.

She stopped walking, and he glanced back at her with a frown. "Luce? What's wrong?"

She was hesitant to speak, but did so anyways. Clearing her throat, she stared him in the eye. "Natsu, are you-"

A hand slammed suddenly over her lips. "Sh," he growled, hushing her as he moved closer again. Lucy instinctively let her hand clutch the end of his scarf, her brown eyes searching the area around them with a wary look, a golden swirl picking up along her fingers in a similar way to Natsu's flames.

"Natsu?" she breathed, nervous. "What's wrong?"

"We're surrounded," he muttered in response. A low growl-like sound left his lips as he whirled in a circle, flames flickering to life and rising along his arms. "Stay back."

Lucy fell into the stance he'd taught her, ready to fight immediately. Her dark eyes searched the area for the Marked Natsu had mentioned, and she snapped, "What, you teach me to fight, then tell me to hang back? Not happening. Sorry, Natsu."

Natsu paused at that, then shrugged, giving her a fanged grin. "Just don't get yourself hurt."

"I'll do my best," she muttered, slightly annoyed by his words. Honestly. She wasn't _helpless_. A hiss caught her ears and Lucy whirled around, golden light flaring warningly when a Marked One slid from the rubble of the destroyed town around them. It was followed by another, and then a few more, and Lucy nervously took a deep breath. She had to focus, she told herself. In order to survive, she had to keep her mind on task.

Easier said than done when Natsu suddenly swore and dropped to the ground to avoid a Marked One that threw itself at them. "Lucy, look out!"

One more deep breath, and then she lashed out, kicking at the Marked One that had attacked. It screamed piercingly, gray tongue hanging from its mouth as it scrambled back to avoid the golden light that exploded out of her foot. Bloodshot black and red eyes glowered viciously at her, and the black saliva that dripped from its sagging mouth hit the ground, melting whatever it touched.

 _Note to self,_ Lucy told herself as she pulled back, ducking to avoid a second that went after Natsu. _Don't touch their spit!_

"The hell?" she whispered as another lunged for the pissed off dragon slayer behind her. Natsu was breathing stream after stream of fire at them, but they pretended not to notice, continuing to go after him, only attacking her if she went after them first or got in their way. Furious, the celestial mage grabbed one's arm, watching as the golden light of her magic enveloped it and sent it flying. "Natsu, they're not-" She cut off with a sharp inhale when one of the Marked Ones suddenly dug its talons viciously into her arm.

Natsu whirled around, eyes snapping wide. "Lucy!"

"I-I'm okay" she rasped, ignoring the blood in favor of slamming her palm into the creature's face, watching as it went slamming through rubble and fell still. "Natsu, they're not going for _me_. They're going after _you_!"

He ducked to avoid a blow, growling irritably and incinerating one that launched itself at him. "I can see that," he snarled back. "But if they're going after me, then why are _you_ still getting attacked?!"

"Because I'm not going to let them get to you," Lucy said firmly.

 _"Do not worry so much for Natsu Dragneel. He is safer than you believe...in the physical sense."_

Lucy had to bite back a bitter laugh as she remembered Mavis' word. _Safe? In the physical sense? Are you_ insane _? He's anything but safe at this point!_ She spun on her heel, narrowly avoiding an attack from a smaller Marked One that lunged with bared fangs for her throat. She slammed her elbow against it, letting her magic power the blow. "Where did they all come from?" she muttered.

In the last few days that they'd been traveling, they hadn't seen a _single_ Marked One! ..had they all migrated here or something?

Suddenly, Natsu was in front of her. The grim expression on his face immediately told her what he planned on doing, and he only paused to let loose a Fire Dragon's Roar to stop another Marked One before saying in a rushed voice, "Lucy, listen to me." She whipped her head around just in time for him to plant a gentle yet fierce kiss to her lips, and stared at him for a moment with shock. "Be careful, okay? Don't let them get you."

"N-Natsu?" she breathed uncertainly, suddenly terrified. "What are you-"

He cut her off by yanking the scarf from around his neck and quickly wrapping it around hers, rushing to shrug his jacket off and drape it over her shoulders as the Marked reared back, seeming to take a moment to regroup.

With Natsu left shirtless, she saw immediately what he'd been hiding from her.

"No," she whispered, voice cracking and tears rising to her eyes as she took in the black Marks that raced up and down his flesh, encircling his arms and hiding the Fairy Tail emblem that had once existed on his shoulder as they reached for his heart. "When-"

"Wendy touched me when she saved me," he said simply. "I didn't want you to know, because I knew you'd be even more upset."

"You're not...you're not leaving me," she rasped, panicking. "No, you can't!"

"I have to," he said firmly. "Stay safe, okay? If I get away, I'll come back for you. They're only after me. I won't put you in danger anymore than you already are...stay alive, alright? If I get away, I'll come find you."

"You can't!" Lucy repeated, trembling as she tried to grab his arm, but he'd already swung around, darting away from her.

The last Lucy saw of Natsu Dragneel, Salamander of Fairy Tail, was as he swung around a corner, the Marked Ones chasing after him and whisking past the young blonde as if she wasn't even there.

And then she was alone, her fingers tangled in the scarf that had once belonged to the one she loved.

* * *

 _Mavis! Yay! I love Mavis, she's pretty freaking badass. Anyone else read Fairy Tail Zero? I recommend it. ANYHOW! Natsu's gone now. Thank you to reviewers (Ayrmed, Become's one with the story, Kinsutenekochan, rrrrRANDOMmm, and the lovely guest!) and those that favorited and followed!_


	20. Chapter 19

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she spent stumbling around the rubble of what had once been a town, but it was quite a long time. When she blinked, coming to the realization that she no longer knew where she was, it was nightfall. Hours upon hours had passed since Natsu had left her there, and she was alone to deal with the cold of the night.

She hugged the jacket he'd left her around her tighter, one hand remaining fisted in the scaly scarf. "Natsu," Lucy breathed, tears rising to her eyes. She hadn't had the pain. So he was still alive...right? He had to be...he'd promised he'd find her…

Until then, until she either had an attack or he found her, she had to keep going. As much as she hated the thought of it, she had to stay alive. Shivering, the celestial mage picked her way through the rubble, looking for a decent place of shelter. First things first: she needed food, some place to hide for the night, and firewood. Luckily, she had the flint and steel she'd used to make fire for Natsu...perhaps it would even attract him back to where she was…

Lucy took a deep breath, letting her brown eyes search the area around her. She wasn't alone, she told herself as the silence pressed in. Natsu was still alive out there. She just had to stay alive until he could find her.

 _There!_

She climbed along some rocks that had once belonged to some building or another, smiling smugly to herself as she made her way over to the untouched house. She inspected the door, then ducked inside, closing and locking it behind her before surveying where she was.

It had once belonged to a family, that much was obvious. There were children's toys littering the ground, and an untouched cup of old - disgusting - coffee on the dining table. Lucy wrinkled her nose at the smell of rotting food, but ignored it. At least she would have shelter from the biting winter winds tonight.

She found the fireplace quickly and lit it, working silently but surely, careful not to light the rest of the building on fire in the process. She set the flint and steel aside with a gentle hand, sweeping her dirtied hair from her face and biting her lip. It was warm and cozy within moments of the fire being lit, but it felt so lonely…

Shrugging the jacket off but leaving her scarf on, Lucy decided to investigate and explore the house. She started with the kitchen, but quickly left it when the rotting smell overpowered her. Closing the door behind her, she decided against going into that room in particular ever again...maybe she could make a home out of this place for the time being?

The next room she explored was a child's bedroom. The old occupant couldn't have been more than a few years old at the most, and had obviously been a boy if the colors and toys were anything to go by...not that little girls couldn't enjoy dinosaurs and action figures, but the clothes confirmed it. A thin layer of dust coated just about everything, including the small bed that the boy had probably once slept in.

Next was the parents' bathroom. She hadn't bothered entering the one closest to the living room she'd set up camp in, as it had smelled absolutely terrible, even with the door firmly shut. She stepped inside, grimacing at the shattered mirror. She hesitantly tested the sink faucet, and was only slightly disappointed when the water didn't turn on. The bathtub was the same.

Finally, Lucy headed into the parents' bedroom. She smiled faintly when she saw it, taking in the cleanliness - other than dust, of course. The mother or father would have been a clean freak if the orderly clothing hanging in the open closet was anything to go by. The bed was large and comfy looking, and just for a brief moment, Lucy considered sleeping in it. But then she decided against the idea. She didn't want to spend the night in a bed that had once belonged to people that were now dead.

And then she stopped in front of a body-length mirror that showed her her entire body. Lucy stared at her reflection, barely recognizing the haunted girl that stared back at her. Her body was no longer anywhere near as soft as it had once been, now mostly made of the muscle that came alongside constant movement and the workouts Natsu had made her do daily alongside him. She was a bit on the thinner side from not eating as well as she should have, and she was dressed in dirtied clothes that were a bit worse for the wear. Her once shining golden hair had been reduced to hanging around her face in disgusting and tangled pieces, her brown eyes dull with loss and hopelessness, and her lips, once usually set in a large smile all of the time, had been pulled down by stress and grief.

She gave a bitter and hysterical giggle. "What would you think of me now, Mama?" she whispered, tears building in her eyes as she looked at her reflection. "I can't...I can't keep going forever...not if Natsu doesn't come back...he's the only thing keeping me going right now…" How long had it been since she'd talked with her mother? "Igneel ordered me to keep going…" _That_ confrontation was still confusing! "Mavis said to remember what Loke said, but it hurts." So was that one! "But I can't! What am I supposed to do? It's not like it's going to fix this...everyone's still gone…"

Lucy broke down, dropping to her knees in front of that mirror, sobbing raggedly into her hands. "What am I supposed to _do_?!" she cried, burying her face in her lap.

She remained that way for a long, long time, refusing to move even as her muscles cramped, even as the room became pitch black with the night outside. She didn't want to move ever again...she wanted nothing more than to curl up in that spot and die alongside all of the friends and family she'd lost.

 _"C'mon, Luce."_

Her head snapped up, her heart stopping at the familiar voice. "Natsu…?" she breathed, but there was nobody around her. She was alone. "Great," she laughed bitterly, shaking her head and wiping the tears from her face. "Now I'm hearing things...I'm going crazy! Ha!" She laughed harder, hysteria filling her.

 _"Don't give in now...not when you've made it so far...please,"_ his voice whispered into her ears. She listened to it, closing her eyes, longing for the comfort he'd once provided her. _"Don't give up. Just hold on a little longer, okay? It'll be over soon."_

"Okay," she answered, her lips lifting into a very faint smile. "Okay, Natsu. I'll hold on...I'll keep trying."

Yep. She had lost her mind. But she didn't care anymore...she'd rather have the voices of her friends rather than be sane and not hear them at all. She would keep trying, even if it meant going on alone. But only for a little while, she told herself, only until she felt the inevitable pain that would come alongside Natsu's death or changing into one of the Marked.

She took a deep breath, then stood. "Let's see if there's something to eat in here," she whispered to herself. Then she would try and make herself remember what Loke had said. She had promised she'd try, so she would.

Lucy made her way into the disgusting kitchen, gagging and holding her breath as she rapidly dug through different cabinets until she found a few cans of non perishable things. She checked for some silverware, then took a decently clean fork and made her way back over to the living room to sit in front of the open fire she'd build in the dirty fireplace. She made herself comfortable in front of it, sighing as she carefully opened one of the cans, digging in with an eagerness she'd forgotten excited when she realized there were peaches inside.

"I'll save the rest for later," she told herself, though she gazed longingly at the other cans. She could remember all of the times she'd been able to eat without having to think of saving for her next meal...even when a certain fire mage had broken in and eaten everything in her fridge!

Making sure there was enough wood in the fireplace for the time being, Lucy took a deep breath, then closed her eyes, clearing her mind of everything but her concentration on trying to remember. Mavis had told her to remember Loke's words, that the curse was holding her back...was that what it was holding her back from? Remembering important bits?

Lucy grimaced. Her head was already beginning to hurt. But she needed to ignore it. She _had_ to. It was a matter of life or death to her...for some reason, she didn't really understand it. A stab of pain had her gasping, but still, she struggled through her murky memories of the day Levy and Gajeel had died, the day she'd lost the last of her Celestial Spirits. She wanted to cry at that memory.

But no. She had to focus. She _had_ to remember what Loke had said!

"C'mon," she groaned, pouting to herself. "What did he _say_?"

A stab of pain had her shaking her head, clutching it in her hands. It was too much...she couldn't keep trying now. She needed a break. Maybe she would do better concerning the matter later, after she'd taken a well-deserved rest…

Lucy hesitantly made her way over to the couch, eyeing it warily. It was probably more comfortable...and she doubted there were any bugs and such on it… So, with a heavy sigh, the celestial mage made herself at home on the couch, draping Natsu's jacket over her for a bit more warmth. She pillowed the scarf under her head, burying her face in it to try and get comfortable.

"It'll be better in the morning…" she told herself. The celestial mage forced herself to smile faintly, then let it drop.

"Who am I kidding?" Lucy whispered, closing her eyes.

Nothing would ever be okay. Never again would anything be even close to okay.

With those thoughts, Lucy fell asleep.

* * *

A week later found a dull-eyed Lucy exiting a line of trees. She'd found a backpack at some point - she wasn't really sure where it came from, but it was useful, so she was glad she had it - and she'd stashed a small amount of food into it. Her back ached, and every now and then, the tired celestial mage would have to stop and rest, but she kept continuing, aiming for none other than Hargeon. Something told her that it was the place she needed to get to, and she was determined to reach it.

Not a single Marked One showed itself as she traveled. They seemed to have vanished off of the face of Fiore - not that she minded. She was grateful they stayed away from her. She wouldn't be able to fend off an entire pack of them if they attacked...not like Natsu could.

She had yet to have an attack, which gave her hope. Natsu was still alive and sane. He had yet to change into one of them. She just hoped she could find him before he went completely insane and she lost the last person she cared for.

She hugged herself, feeling a flash of grief. Everyone was gone...she was alone...why? Why couldn't she have joined them? She still could, she supposed, her eyes narrowing in thought. It wouldn't be that hard…

No, she scolded herself. Lucy shook her head to clear it. Natsu would be horrified...and he was still out there, alive! She couldn't just abandon him! She had to find him!

"C'mon, Lucy," she told herself, making herself smile. "You're a member of Fairy Tail! We don't give up just because there's...well, nothing." She shifted the backpack, letting a look of determination appear on her face. No. Fairy Tail mages didn't just give up. They kept going until they couldn't move.

So that's what she'd do.

Until she knew for a fact that she was the last one left.

Lucy paused to take a deep breath, looking over what was left of the place they'd lost more than one friend in: Hargeon. The last time she'd been here, Lyon, Juvia, Chelia, and Happy had died. This time, there was nobody left for her to lose. She surveyed the utterly demolished port, taking in the lack of boats along the docks, the empty destroyed streets, and the sheets of ice still left from when Juvia had flooded the entire area. Lucy shifted the backpack on her back again, nodding to herself.

"Natsu will be here," she murmured to herself. There was a reason she felt as if she had to come here, to this place...right? "Now I just have to set up a little base, and I can wait and see if he finds me…"

With that in mind, the celestial mage made her way into Hargeon. She easily navigated the destruction there, pretending she didn't see the dried blood that still dotted some walls and the cobblestone beneath the snow. She saw the remains of the restaurant she'd first treated Natsu and Happy in after they'd helped her escape the control of Bora's illegal spells, and she had to quickly look away, blinking away tears.

She wouldn't cry.

She _couldn't._

"Natsu," she said softly, watching as her breath came in a small cloud of white that dissipated quickly. "Where are you? You said you'd come find me, and even with all of this snow, you're nose isn't _that_ weak…"

And then, suddenly, she was on the ground, agonizing pain rippling through her. She gave a small shriek as her knees struck the ground with jarring impact that had her hissing in pain, and almost as violently as the pain, panic filled her.

"No," she whispered, then shrieked when pain lashed through her, making her tense as it filled her, stopping her heart in her chest and suffocating her. "N-no, he...he promised…" she wheezed hysterically.

This couldn't be happening.

And it didn't help that the pain she felt was worse than any other time. It was as if thousands of knives were stabbing her at the same time that she was drowning and something was tearing her apart piece by piece. It felt as if she was dying, dead, and had been dead for a while at the same time that she was more alive than ever.

There was only one person left to create such pain in her, and she knew exactly who she was losing. The thought had her screaming piercingly into her scarf, the very scarf he'd been wearing only just over a week before.

Natsu was gone.

Her Natsu had died, and was completely dead or replaced by some creature that held his body hostage.

Tears boiled over and streamed down her cheeks, leaving her a mess of a person that refused to get up from the snow. Even after the pain _finally_ began to recede, she lay curled up in a ball in the snow, wishing that the Marked would come out and kill her.

What was the point of even trying now? Everyone was dead! She was the only one left, and she didn't want to be!  
She rolled onto her back, staring up at the clouds that had filled the sky over the time she'd been traveling. Her brown eyes, once sparkling with determination and happiness as she celebrated a recent victory with her nakama, were blank, as if she was already dead.

Why was she still alive? she thought blankly, shaking her head slowly. It wasn't _fair_! She didn't _want_ to live without them!

A hiss filled her ears, and Lucy shot upwards into a sitting position, her breath hitching. She knew that sound. How could she not after months of fleeing? The Marked had arrived...she was, after all, their last victim.

Lucy contemplated for a brief moment what she wanted to do. Should she flee and hide, try to keep herself alive like Natsu and everyone else would have told her to do? Or should she die and fight, going to join her nakama in death?

She didn't get the chance to decide.

Something threw itself out of the shadows at her, and Lucy gave a short little shrieked gasp of shock and surprise when she was sent flying. She slammed into a wall at full force, and the breath rushed out of her. Coughing and gasping, trying to catch her breath, she lifted her head, wincing and ignoring the trickle of blood that ran the back of her neck.

"No," she whimpered, her voice cracking.

So close.

They had been so close to each other, and she'd missed him only by minutes.

Before her stood what had once been Natsu Dragneel, Salamander and fire dragon slayer of the guild Fairy Tail. He still had his pink hair, but the rest of him was nearly unrecognizable. His eyes were that terrifying red-and-black mixture, his mouth spread in an unnatural way. The Marks criss-crossed across his flesh, and when he grinned an unnaturally wide grin in a mocking echo of his usual one, it showed already sharpened teeth.

"Natsu?" Even knowing he was gone didn't get rid of the hope she felt fill her.

Her answer came in the form of a heart-stopping snarl.

She took a deep breath, then slowly slid into the position he'd taught her. Her fists came up, one foot sliding back to give her a better sense of balance, and the golden light they'd figured out how to summon swirled around her. She didn't want to live, she told herself, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. After all...none of the others had.

"Come at me," she said, forcing herself to smile cockily through her tears, which were slowing. Soon, she'd be joining her nakama...so there was no reason to cry. "I'm...I'm all fired up."

In response, flames lit along his - _its_ , she told herself harshly - flesh.

She blinked. "...you're not supposed to be able to do that," she mumbled, "You really aren't supposed to be able to do that."

And then he lunged forward. Lucy ducked to avoid the first blow but was unable to avoid the second. His knee slammed into her gut and she coughed, dropping to the ground with a gasp. She rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a fist that was driven downward, the area she'd been in exploding in a mess of debris and flames.

He cackled as if it was the funniest thing in the world, shaking a fist as he straightened. Suddenly, he inhaled sharply.

"...shit," she rasped. She charged forward just as the Fire Dragon's Roar exploded in her direction, stumbling over her own feet in her rush to crash into him and stop the attack in its tracks. She hesitated before finally wheeling around, aiming to kick the creature that had once been the one she loved with a full fledged Lucy Kick, but he caught her foot, using the force she'd put into it to swing her around and throw her as if she was a sack of flour.

She went flying, rolling across the ground when she landed. She took a moment to gather her mind together, then scrambled to her feet, diving out of the way when he came after her again with a loud laugh, as if he was enjoying her struggle.

Lucy barreled towards him again, this time tricking him. She pretended to swing one way, then caught him by surprise by quickly switching, elbowing him and using her magic to drive the blow home. A sharp crack in his ribs told her she'd been successful, and she winced, making herself ignore the pink hair that brushed her face when he suddenly leaned forward and shoved her.

Lucy stumbled back, and scowled furiously when the scarf wrapped around her throat was suddenly caught in his fist. How the _hell_ had Natsu fought with this thing?! She yelped as she was dragged forward. "Let go," she spat, kicking when he hauled her into the air, grinning again.

She went still when he replied in Natsu's voice, "Your turn, Lucy Heartfilia."

Her heart ached at his voice. "No," she retorted, but gave no struggle when he suddenly hurled her down onto the ground. She cried out in pain, then gasped when a foot slammed down on top of her chest. She heard the same snapping sound as when she'd managed to crack a few of his ribs, and pain exploded through her, almost as bad as the attacks she'd had. Coughing blood now and grimacing at the fact, she struggled to roll away, only for blow after blow to land on her.

It wasn't long before she was practically numb to the pain, her vision fading in and out. She was confident that the creature still kicking her body around like a ragdoll had broken every single bone in her body, but she could have cared less.

 _Her_ Natsu was dead, and the thing above her was only a mere copy.

Lucy's eyes snapped open.

No, she realized, her brow slowly furrowing. What was she _doing_?

The cackling above her stopped, and it was as if time slowed...no, it was like time had _stopped_. A giggle escaped her, blood bubbling at her lips as she grinned up at the creature above her. Its face was still twisted in that terrifyingly malicious smirk.

 _"Do not worry so much for Natsu Dragneel,"_ Mavis had told her. _"He is safer than you believe in the physical sense."_

Of course he was, she realized, throwing her head back painfully and laughing, clutching her stomach with shaking arms as she did so, blood spattering the space around her and seeming to hang there as if frozen.

Natsu was fine.

There was no way in _hell_ that her dragon slayer was dead and had turned into this. There was no way he could have even _died_. As if Natsu was capable of dying so easily! She laughed harder, shaking her head despite the pain that seemed to hesitate before filling her. No _way_!

She smirked up at the sky, her dark eyes sparkling for the first time in a long time. "Caught ya, you bastards," she mumbled, wiping a tear away from her eye. "I _win_. I get it now. I so get it. There's no way this," she threw her arms out, letting them fall to the ground with a sharp impact. "Is even close to being real." She giggled again, shaking her head once more. "Natsu? _Dead_? Hah! Same goes for the rest of Fairy Tail. We're Fairy Tail...we don't die so easily, you know."

 _Crack!_

The world around her seemed to crack, as if she'd slammed her fist into a mirror.

"I'm not so stupid to not realize it before you won," she whispered, her hand rising to clench in Natsu's scarf. "My friends tried to help me. You couldn't completely stop them...you didn't anticipate Mavis...or the fact that when I summoned my Spirits, it was actually _them_ and not some copy you created."

She remembered what Loke said. How could she have forgotten? It was so simple...he'd given her the answer so long ago! Why had it taken her this long to realize?

She staggered to her feet, her eyes sharp with anger and amusement. She nearly fell back down again, and gave a sharp gasp when pain shot through her leg, but she scoffed at it. This wasn't real pain, she told herself. It was an illusion, created by whatever bastard had done this to her.

The world continued to crack around her, this time beginning to dissolve. As she watched, the Natsu before her disappeared, becoming particles of dust that floated upwards.

 _"Nightmares are terrifying,"_ she remembered Loke telling her, _"But remember, Lucy."_

She beamed up at the sky, which had been cloudy only moments before but was now full of clouds of the dust of the dissolving world around her.

 _"You can always choose to wake up."_

"You lose," she whispered, watching as the ground beneath her feet began to disappear. Her fingers drifted across the scarf wrapped around her throat and she watched lovingly as it, too, disappeared. "Because I know now. And it's time to _wake up._ "

With that statement, the world _shattered_ , and she was suddenly falling. The pain in her body disappeared, the only thing left being an unending _ache_ that came from her back. Lucy watched distantly as nothing sped past her, her blonde hair fluttering around her face as she fell. Her eyes closed for a brief moment, a soft smile crossing her face as she repeated, "I win."

Her heart, which had been thudding wildly in her chest, slowed until it came to a complete stop. But this time, she realized, her smile growing in a lazy way, it didn't hurt. She didn't mind that it had stopped. Because she'd defeated whatever had decided to plague her. She'd won.

 _"Lucy!"_

Her eyes snapped open. She knew that voice. How could she forget the voices of any of her friends?

 _"Shit,"_ it hissed, sounding panicked, _"Lucy, can you hear me? Wake up! Open your eyes! Don't give up now, please! You're so...you're so close!"_

 _It's okay,_ she tried to tell them, but nothing came out. _I'm safe now...I won._

That wasn't good enough, apparently, however.

A _roar_ filled her ears, and instinctively, Lucy slapped her hands over them. The sound scared her, and she found herself gasping for air as her heart began to pound away in her chest. _Igneel,_ she recognized. The dragon was in this darkness, too? Why was he here…? Was this where she'd been the night Wendy had died? Was she going to go back to that beautiful field, where it had rained ash?

 _No_.

Her guild hadn't been there. Not a single member of her nakama had been in that field, and she wasn't going to be there without them.

 _"Lucy,"_ the voice whispered desperately. _"Don't do this to us. Come on, you can do it, just hang in there a little longer...Wendy will be coming back in a few days, okay?"_

_Okay,_ she thought, smiling to herself. She was still falling, and she could feel the wind rushing past her. _I'll wait._

And just as suddenly, she jerked to a halt. Pressure crushed in on her, and she winced at the pain of it. Startling cold rushed through her, and Lucy tilted her head. Where had it _come_ from? It didn't matter, though, as only a moment later she was warm. A warm feeling spread through her and Lucy giggled almost drunkenly, closing her eyes and enjoying it.

 _"Can you hear me, Lucy? You can wake up now...please...open your eyes…"_

The warmth went away and she mumbled her protest. She wanted it back…

A chuckle was heard, and breath washed over her face. _"Open your eyes, Lucy. You can have it if you open your eyes."_

What else was she supposed to do? Sit there in the darkness? She was setting to work on trying to pry her heavy eyes open when a voice startled her, the familiar screeching of the Marked filling her ears. Terror flooded her and she cringed away, her own lips uttering a shrill scream.

And then her eyes snapped open.

* * *

 _And there goes Natsu, but yay! Lucy figured things out at last! :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks to reviewers (DuskWolf8, Ayrmed, LegendaryWolf129, Become's one with the story, Gothazon, Guest, rrrrRANDOMmm, Kinsutenekochan, and dreeaatail) along with any that favorited and followed! :) It makes my day!_


	21. Chapter 20

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

Pain sliced through her as she pried her eyes open, blinking blurrily. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was-

Lucy snapped upwards with a cry, cradling her head in her hands, already beginning to hyperventilate. Her breath came in short quick gasps as she shook, her entire body shaking the bed she found herself in. Tears sprung to her eyes and then began to fall as she stumbled out of the bed, her weak legs unable to support her, and she crashed to the ground with a loud sound. There was a tug in her arm as something was pulled out of her flesh, left hanging in the air. She cried out in pain and terror, instinctively curling up into fetal position, covering her head as she sobbed into her knees.

Suddenly, there were gentle hands landing on her arms, a voice murmuring gently to her before hissing in shock and surprise when she screamed and lashed out, trying to yank away. She thrashed, trying to free herself from their grasp, quivering as the memories of talons raking through her flesh filled her.

"Lucy!" someone shouted in her ear, and the celestial mage wailed in response, cowering and covering her face with her arms. "Lucy, listen to me, you're-"

A door slammed open. "What's going on?! Did she - oh, my god! She's awake!"

"Get the Master, don't let anyone in here!"

"Right!"

The door slammed shut.

Lucy sobbed into her arms, shaking her head.

No. _No._ She couldn't do this! She couldn't watch all of her friends die again! This couldn't be happening!

"Lucy," Loke's voice soothed, his hands gently returning to her arms as he tried to pull her hands away from her face. He moved slowly with exaggerated movements, making sure she could see what he was doing. He was able to move her hands with ease, and Lucy stared miserably into his serious green eyes with a haunted gaze, tears falling rapidly from her eyes. His gaze softened alongside his voice. "Lucy" he murmured, touching her cheek. She flinched away. "Listen to me. You're alright. You're safe."

She shook her head, shoving at him as she tried to push away. "No," she breathed, her voice hoarse and barely audible. She swallowed thickly, her throat dry, and then she was coughing harshly, struggling to breathe through her panic.

The door flew open again, and Lucy forced herself not to look up, trembling as a familiar voice demanded, "Loke, what happened?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "One moment, it was like it has been for the last few months, the next I felt something shift. I stepped out and she was like this."

"Mira, I want you to get a hold of-"

"On it, Master." Mirajane paused, gazing worriedly at Lucy, then darted out of the room, long silver hair fluttering around her as she did so.

Lucy buried her face in her hands, trembling every now and then, cringing away from Loke's touch. "D-don't," she managed to choke out, her throat parched.

Makarov pressed his lips together in a hard line. "He won't be pleased that he wasn't here...I'll have Mira fetch Cana at least. She'll stay with her until they return. I'm assuming you'll be staying here until Porlyusica comes to check on her?"

"No" Loke murmured. "Whenever Cana comes, I'll check in with the rest of Lucy's Spirits...even Aquarius has been worried." He pulled his hands back, contemplating. "We really need to get her off the floor...how far away are they? Did they get very far?"

"A good day's travel," Makarov answered, shaking his head with a sigh. "Although I suppose it won't take that brat as long to get back here once Mira gets a hold of him...he's been worried sick, just like we all have. Loke, make sure she gets into bed. I'm going to send Jet to fetch Porlyusica." He smiled kindly at the shaky celestial mage, looking relieved, and then left the room.

"Come on, Lucy," Loke said gently, carefully gathering her off the floor and lifting her as she weighed nothing. Instinctively, her fists clenched in the fancy tie he wore, and she shook as she touched the silky material. Tears rose to her eyes again. She mumbled his name, and Loke smiled gently as he set her down in the bed. "Look at me," he ordered. Her eyes lifted hesitantly to his, and he locked his gaze firmly on hers. "You're safe."

"Maybe," she managed to mumble out, hesitant. She wanted to memorize Loke's face. She wanted to memorize all of the faces she knew without a doubt she'd be seeing before long. "But nobody else will be."

"No," Loke protested, "All of us, okay? I know what you went through wasn't fun, Lucy." He gently began to tuck the blankets that had covered her around her. "All of us, every single one of your Celestial Spirits saw what you were going through. It was just a dream, just like I told you. Just a nightmare."

Lucy buried her face in her hands, quivering. "Dreams come true," she rasped, "So nightmares can, too."

"That may be true," he admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently pushing some blonde hair from her face. He took in her haunted brown eyes with a gentle smile. "But Lucy...none of us are going anywhere. You're safe now. Those...what did you call them? Marked Ones?" She shuddered. "They don't exist, and even if they do, they wouldn't be able to land a single hand on any of us."

There was a knock on the door. "Loke? Lucy? May I come in?"

"Sure thing," Loke called, "I have to go back and tell the others anyways. Lucy," he added when Mira closed the door behind her, approaching carefully. "Remember. Everything's alright now, okay? I promise."

"Doesn't make it true," she whispered, voice raspy and hoarse from lack of use as he disappeared. She lowered her eyes to her lap, refusing to look up when Mira copied what Loke had done moments ago, taking his place on the edge of the bed.

Not to be discouraged, Mirajane smiled broadly at her. "Would you like something to eat, Lucy?" she asked, offering some food that she'd brought up with her. "I could get you some tea if you want."

"No, thanks," Lucy whispered in response, clenching her teeth at Mira's voice. She felt a flash of longing to hug the other woman but fought against it. For all she knew, Mira would disappear soon, never to be heard from again.

Mira tucked a lock of silver hair behind her ear, glancing at Lucy out of the corner of her eye. "The entire guild has been worried about you, you know...we don't know what happened, but we were. I'm glad you're awake now. You've been out for…" Mira counted on her fingers. "Three months, almost four now."

Lucy's dark gaze flicked up for a brief moment. "I was...unconscious?" she mumbled.

"Mhm," Mira answered, nodding her head. Her eyes gentled, and she opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Makarov came back inside, his mouth set in a firm line. "Master?"

"I want some food prepared immediately," he announced. "Lucy needs to eat, and whatever you think best for her to drink, Mira."

"Told you you needed to eat," Mirajane told Lucy playfully. She hesitated, then gently touched Lucy's arm. The blonde cringed away, her gaze downcast, and the barmaid sighed softly. "I'll do it...how soon will they get here? I think she really needs them, Master…"

"Natsu and Happy will arrive within the next few hours," Makarov answered. Lucy's head snapped up painfully at Natsu's name, and he gave a slight smirk before adding, "The others will be here by tomorrow. Now off with you! I need to speak with Lucy."

When Mira had left, Lucy pretended she didn't hear a single word Makarov said. Until she was absolutely certain that this wasn't another dream...she wasn't believing a single word anyone said or willingly touching anyone. Because if she did either of those things and it turned out to be a dream...she didn't think she could handle it.

Makarov tried to get her to respond, but she didn't, and in the end, he gave up when Mira returned with a plate of food and a steaming cup of tea. Lucy ignored both, instead curling up under the covers, closing her eyes. Almost immediately, her mind was filled with images of the Marked tearing through her friends as if they were nothing. She could remember watching Gajeel turning on them, killing Levy. She could remember the dark look in Juvia's eyes as she literally tore Happy apart…

A muffled sob escaped her, and Mira's gentle hand landed on her head, smoothing her matted blonde hair out of her face. Her dark blue eyes were full of concern for the young celestial mage, but she said nothing, setting the plate of food and cup of tea aside. "It's okay, Lucy," she tried to soothe, but the celestial mage was having nothing of it.

In the end, Loke showed back up on his own accord, Aries alongside him, though she looked exhausted from using her own abilities to show up. It was rare that she did so. When Mira looked questioningly at her, the Celestial Lion Spirit said simply, "She wanted to check on Lucy...she was one of the first ones Lucy lost in the nightmare."

Lucy ignored all of them, her head buried under the sheets, her face in her hands. She didn't want them in the room with her! Couldn't they see that? Her throat was too parched to even consider speaking, even if she had wanted to. She contemplated telling them to leave, but she doubted any of them would listen to her. Well, maybe Aries, but then she'd feel guilty.

Suddenly, the door opened and a sharp voice said irritably, "All of you. Out. I don't need anyone disrupting me while I'm working."

"Porlyusica," Mira murmured in relief as she stood, smiling broadly in greeting at the healer. Loke and Aries left in a small flash of light, and she hurried to wait outside the door. She'd be the first one when Porlyusica left, that was certain. For now, she'd wait.

Grumbling, Porlyusica ripped the blankets away from Lucy, who only blinked at the sudden brightness of light. "Up with you," she snapped, jerking Lucy into a sitting position, ignoring the way Lucy cringed away from her touch. "You're fine. Physically, at least, once you get some food into you." She poked sharply at Lucy's bony legs. "Not eating properly for three months...tch!" She poked and prodded, ripping Lucy's shirt up to peer at her back and gave a satisfied grunt. "Good. The mark's gone...maybe you aren't so pathetic after all. Beat the demon, did ya?"

Lucy slowly turned her dulled gaze on the healer. "...demon…?"

Porlyusica moved on to the basket she'd brought with her, shoving a leaf into the celestial mage's mouth. Lucy sputtered in surprise, spitting out the bitter leaf. "Yes. Demon. You were attacked by a demon that belongs to the leader of a dark magic cult. It used primitive magic to carve a spell into your back that put you in a nightmare. Had you have died in the nightmare, you would have died in reality...good to know that I won't have to come to a funeral. They're a waste of my time."

Lucy furrowed her brow, her mind drifting to the humanoid bug creature she'd seen twice before everything had gone to hell. _That was a demon…?_

Another leaf was shoved into her mouth and Porlyusica slapped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her irritably. "Eat it," she ordered. "Your body needs proper rest, especially after the damage you did by getting up so quickly after being unconscious for so long. Your mind, too. It hasn't properly seen sleep in a long time."

Lucy glared at her, chewing on the leaf, and making herself swallow. She shuddered at the bitterness.

Wiping her hands on rag after removing them from covering Lucy's mouth, Porlyusica muttered, "You need rest and some help regaining your muscle tone back, but other than that, you'll be fine physically. The mental damage is up to you and the rest of your bothersome guild to fix." Without another word, the healer gave her a final glare and left, shouting over her shoulder as she pushed past Makarov, who had joined Mira outside of the room, "Stop calling me for such pathetic reasons, Makarov!"

Lucy reached for the tea that Mira had left, hesitant to do so. She didn't want to taste the drink she hadn't had in so long, because it would only serve to try and convince her that everything was safe and fine when she didn't think or truly believe it was. But the bitterness of the leaf that had been practically shoved down her throat finally convinced the celestial mage to down it.

Makarov and Mirajane returned into the room, this time accompanied by a familiar brunette and her constant companion: a barrel of alcohol. Cana grinned broadly at the sight of Lucy awake, resting the weight of her barrel on her hip. "Hey, Lucy," she greeted, throwing herself down into a chair beside the blonde's bed. Lucy blinked, her brow slowly furrowing.

Makarov gave a bright smile, looking faintly amused. "Mira and I have work to do, so Cana's going to stay with you until Natsu gets back. Get some rest, my dear. You need it."

Again, she heard his name, and it had her heart skipping a beat. Natsu was coming? Unwilling but unable to help herself, hope spread throughout the celestial mage's mind, and it was that hope that lulled her into the safety of sleep as Cana droned on and on about who was darting who. When Cana stopped to breathe, her dark eyes landed on the sleeping Lucy, and a slight smile appeared on her face.

"It's good to have you back, Lucy," she murmured, reaching out to gently brush the hair out of her friend's sleeping face.

* * *

When Lucy opened her eyes again, it was dark outside. There was a lot of noise coming from below, and she distantly realized that her nakama were making a heck of a lot of it. Far more than usual. Were they throwing a party? How long had it been since she'd seen any of them so happy?

Her eyes narrowed in thought against the darkness after she'd blurrily blinked her sleepiness away. She went to sit up, and then stopped in her tracks when she recognized a warm pressure on her hand. Her gaze drifted to figure out what was there, and her heart stopped for a brief moment as she recognized the large calloused fingers curled around her own.

He was asleep, sitting in the chair Cana had occupied. He was doubled over, his upper half resting on the bed, one arm pillowing his head. His face was facing her, and she frowned to herself at the exhaustion lining it. His pink hair was mussed, wild from rushing around, and he was snoring quietly in his sleep. Someone had draped a blanket over his shoulders, and Lucy was suspicious that he'd been with her for at least a little while. The scarf he adored so much was wrapped around his throat, and she found herself reaching out to brush her fingers against the scaly fabric. It was warm instead of cold, as she had grown used to it being over the week away from him. Tears began to gather in her eyes, and with shaking hands, the celestial mage reached out to gently brush her fingers over his cheek. Her hand trembled against his warm flesh, and the second she had skimmed her fingers across his cheek, his sharp onyx eyes sprang open. He blinked for a moment, and Lucy froze, a little surprised.

And then he was on his feet, a huge fanged spreading across his face, his eyes gleaming excitedly. "Lucy!" he cried. And then she was being crushed against him, pulled out of the bed as he laughed, his face pressed into her hair and his strong arms holding her up when her weak legs couldn't.

Unable to help herself, she threw her arms around his neck, sobbing hysterically. " _Natsu_ ," she breathed, closing her eyes happily at the warmth he provided. He was here, and he was _alive_.

Unless this was all a dream.

That thought brought her happiness to a screeching halt, and the young blonde ripped herself away. Natsu, startled, let her, and she was quickly stumbling back, her smile vanishing as she dropped her face into her hands. This couldn't be a dream...if this was a dream, she would die. She just knew it.

The smile vanished from his face. "...Luce?"

Lucy stumbled, nearly crashing into the ground, and his eyes flashed with concern as he caught her. But she only pulled away again, dropping onto the floor with a whispered, "Go away."

The look on the fire dragon slayer's face killed her inside. Hurt flashed across his expression. "But...why?" He dropped down to sit in front of her, craning his head in an awkward angle so that he could look into her grieved dark eyes. "Luce, what's wrong?"

"That nightmare was pretty bad." Loke's voice had his head snapping up. The Celestial Spirit had stepped out on his own accord - again - as if sensing her distress. "Natsu, she watched all of us die...and none of us can seem to _convince her that she's awake_." The last bit was said in Natsu's direction with a pointed look and a sharp tone, and he grimaced, realizing what Loke wanted.

Natsu rubbed the back of his head, messing his pink hair up further. "Lucy?" he said softly, trying to gain her attention. She ignored him, remaining as she was and he lost patience almost immediately. Ignoring Loke's irritated scowl, the dragon slayer reached over and grabbed her chin, using the other hand to snatch her hands away. Forcing her to look at him, he shoved his face near hers, searching her gaze. "Look at me, damn it!" When he was certain she was listening, the fire mage huffed, his grip gentling. "We're all okay, got it? What the hell were you thinking? Something killing every single one of us?" He grinned that special grin of his at her. "As if!" His forehead came to rest against hers. "We're fine, all alive. You're alive. And awake. And there's a huge party going on downstairs that I'm missing out on to tell you this, so you better stop freaking out and pay attention to me."

Lucy's cheeks tinted pink. "...okay," she mumbled.

Triumphant, the dragon slayer looked to Loke for approval, and Loke rolled his eyes before disappearing again. Natsu pouted at the now empty space. "He's being an ass today," he muttered, then blinked when Lucy suddenly held her arms out. He grinned, recognizing instinctively what she wanted and dragged her over for a hug.

This time, she didn't try and get away.

"You really scared us," Natsu mumbled, silently checking to make sure she hadn't given herself an open wound. Smelling no blood, he rested his chin on top of her head, ignoring the fact that both of them were now sitting on the hard floor rather than the semi-comfortable bed. "You nearly left us a couple times."

Lucy didn't respond for a few moments, simply letting herself cautiously enjoy Natsu's presence. And this wasn't the hardened Natsu she'd grown used to, she realized, this was the man who'd brought her to Fairy Tail, who wanted to start fights at every possible chance. This was _her_ Natsu. Finally, she rasped, "Sorry."

"Not you who needs to apologize," he grumbled, gently untangling a knot in her hair. "That stupid ice-bastard is going to worship the ground you walk on until he's paid you back for what he did."

Lucy frowned at this, pulling back to look up at him for just a brief moment. Natsu was glowering at the wall, and she could feel the slightest flickers of flames snapping to life. "...what?"

"'Cause that bastard said what he said, you left and got attacked," Natsu growled, still not looking at her. "He's lucky Erza and I didn't kill him...Juvia stopped us."

"...I'm lost," she admitted after another moment of silent thought. "I...I can't figure out…" She stumbled over her words, mind going a mile a minute. She knew exactly what he was talking about. _"Yeah, well, at least she would have been of use in the fight and wouldn't have just stood there like a useless whining bitch!"_ She remembered Gray's words. She remembered the attack...but then she remembered everything that followed. So how how much of it had she been unconscious for?"

"You didn't wake up from the attack," Natsu mumbled, his grip tightening around her. "I chased the demon off, and Wendy and I got you to some hospital place. When you didn't wake up for a while, we decided to move you here."

Lucy went over this carefully. "...the mark?" she asked suddenly, a hand carefully reaching back to try and feel her back. She couldn't reach, however, and scowled. She wanted to make sure herself that it wasn't there. Only then would she truly believe everyone. Not that it would stop the nightmares that she _knew_ would continue to bug her.

"Let me see," he murmured. She tensed in surprise when she felt his hand brush against the flesh of her back, his touch warm against her chilled skin. Then he grinned. "Nope. Nothing. It's gone, just like Gramps and that weird lady said."

"She's not weird," Lucy chided tiredly, rolling her eyes. But a large smile had planted itself on her face, and she winced when there was a loud crash below them. Natsu huffed, looking longingly at the floor, and the celestial mage patted his shoulder. "Help me onto the bed and you can go join the fighting if you want...just don't burn the guildhall down please."

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "I'm gonna stay with you."

She smiled warmly at that. "Seriously though," she said, frowning. "I want to get on the bed now. The floor's really uncomfortable. And I can't...I can't move on my own." She flushed, waving at her thin legs.

He grinned, scooping her up and hugging her again for a brief moment. "We'll have you up and walking again in no time," he announced, somehow getting to his feet even though he was holding her. He placed her in the bed, gently tucking the sheets and blankets around her. "Do you want anything to eat? 'Cause I'm starving."

Lucy giggled softly. "Sure."

"I'll bring you something delicious," he promised eagerly. "Happy's gonna want to come up, too, though. D'ya mind?"

Lucy's mind immediately went to the memory of Juvia ripping Happy apart. "...no," she decided. "I want to see him." She wanted to hug the blue cat and apologize for all of the times she'd shouted at him.

"I'll be right back," he promised. He hesitated for a moment, then grinned, ducking down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. She blinked up at him in surprise, and he smirked before darting from the room.

Okay. So maybe there was a bit more to her Natsu then she remembered…

Lucy bit her lip, grateful that Natsu had left her sitting up. She rested back against the headboard of the bed, letting her eyes flutter shut to doze until the door slammed open again. Natsu came flying back in with Happy in tow. The blue cat wailed, abandoning Natsu to slam into her. Lucy flinched in pain, smiling gently down at him as she stroked his head. "You're okay!" Happy sobbed. "W-we were s-so worried!"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, cuddling the crying Exceed to her. She spared a glance up at Natsu, who was watching with an emotionless expression, his gaze never leaving her even as he offered her a cup of tea that Mira had probably handed him to bring her. She reached out to take it, careful not to bother Happy as he cried against her. "I'm okay now," she promised, "It won't happen again…" _I hope!_

"It better not," Natsu growled, flopping into the chair beside her bed, watching intently as he exchanged the now empty cup for a small roll. "Mira said you shouldn't eat too much...you haven't eaten right since before the attack."

"Thank you, Natsu," she said honestly, nibbling at the edge of the roll.

They fell silent except for Happy's wailing, and Lucy could feel her eyes drooping. How was she tired after being unconscious for months on end? And how could she even consider sleeping when she knew the nightmares would plague her? Yet here she was, ready to pass out!

"Luce?"

"Hm?" She forced her eyes open, turning them on the dragon slayer.

"You can sleep ya know," he offered. "I'll send Happy back downstairs." He received a furious glare from the Exceed for that suggestion.

"No," Lucy insisted, shaking her head. "I want to stay awake...I don't want to sleep anymore…" She gave a rather large yawn that had her dragon slayer companion smirking. She only rolled her eyes and locked them on Happy, stroking his head gently. "And I don't want to see…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish.

"You don't have to sleep," Happy promised, hugging her even tighter. "Natsu and I can help keep you awake! Wanna play a game with fish?"

"Uh, no, but thanks," Lucy chuckled softly.

"I can tell ya what you missed," Natsu offered suddenly, startling her. She looked over at him with surprise and he flashed her a grin. "It's not a lot. And maybe you can tell us about that nightmare that scares ya. Loke said it was bad."

"I'd rather not," Lucy said hastily, shivering at the memories that flooded her. "Not...not yet, Natsu."

"Okay." Even he knew when not to push. "I'll just tell you what you've missed then...wanna help, little buddy?" He grinned at Happy, who beamed back and eagerly agreed.

Somehow, Lucy stayed awake throughout the entire story.

* * *

 _Yay! Lucy's awake! Happiness! :D I also want to take the time to tell you all: if you have any questions, feel free to PM me! Thank you to all reviewers (rrrrRANDOMmm, Ayrmed, Become's one with the story, LegendaryWolf129, JohnnySpectre, Lemonjello, Kinsutenekochan, and Gothazon)_ _along with all that favorited and followed! It makes me incredibly happy!_

 _Fun fact: every time someone spoke in italics, it was Lucy hearing someone talking to her from the real world. Most of the time it was Natsu, but there were a few others who were heard, including Loke (in the last chapter) and Levy. Also! Way far back, in Chapter 5, there is a mention of a waitress dropping a glass and the glass shattering "a second after the sound of shattering glass filled the air."_


	22. Chapter 21

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

The next morning found Lucy curled up on the infirmary bed, tucked safely into the side of the snoring Natsu with Happy squished between them. Her fingers were tangled in his scarf, as if holding onto it would anchor him to her, and he'd somehow managed to rest his cheek against the top of her head. There hadn't been any need for blankets, as Natsu's heat was more than enough to keep the chilled celestial mage warm.

Naturally, upon quietly entering the room, Mira had turned right back around and walked out, returning a few minutes later with Reedus. She'd given him a look that had clearly ordered him to paint, and Reedus quickly went to do as he was told.

Nearly an hour later found Mira beaming at the paper he'd stuffed into her hands before scrambling off to safety. She folded it carefully, stuffing it into her pocket to later gift to Lucy - who she was sure would blush and sputter but accept it - and went back to carefully cleaning the guildhall, which had nearly been destroyed the previous night when Natsu's brief appearance had filled the place with flames.

"You're in a good mood."

Mira, who'd been humming as she swiped at the bar, glanced up. "Master," she greeted warmly, her blue eyes sparkling. She smiled warmly, returning to what she'd been doing. "I went to check on Lucy...I made sure to place a minor spell that would keep noise and everyone out. She and Natsu were sleeping, and I thought it best not to disturb them."

"Ah." Makarov, who'd seated himself on top of a clean portion of the bar, nodded. "Good choice. That brat hasn't slept properly since Lucy was hurt."

Mira tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, pausing to ask, "Any word from Levy, Master?"

"Not quite yet," he answered with a sigh. "She, Gajeel, and Lily haven't reported to me since their arrival to their job's location...I'm sure they'll be back soon enough. Gajeel said he'd keep Levy safe, and I believe him."

"The demon though…" Mira's voice was uncertain. "Look what it did to Lucy...I hope they're alright."

"They'll be fine," he replied firmly. He gave a bright grin, studying the destruction around them. "I am glad my child has woken...it was a long few months without her."

The ex-S-Class mage nodded cheerfully, poking at an unconscious Cana, who'd passed out at the bar with a barrel of alcohol cuddled in her lap. Cana moaned, toppling off the bar stool and onto the floor, where she proceeded to sleep again. Mirajane beamed, wiping at that spot. "For all of us. That party we decided to have will probably happen again when Lucy is capable of coming down to join us."

Makarov sighed. "Don't let them destroy too much," he wailed, "The Magic Council received several complaints last night and sent them to me!"

"Erza, Gray, and Wendy must be in a rush to finish that job before they come back," Mira mused. While Natsu and Happy had come back immediately, she'd received word from Erza that the rest of Team Natsu was going to finish the job they'd accepted before heading back. They planned on returning within the day, more than likely late at night, so Mira wasn't too concerned.

"They don't have to destroy a town to do so," Makarov muttered.

She flinched. "True," she agreed. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, saying in a hushed tone, "Has the First returned yet? She said she would return to check on Lucy."

"Not yet," he answered. "I'll alert you as to when she returns, though. She should be coming back within the next few days, I believe." He sighed heavily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do…." Mira watched him slowly make his way into office he used, shaking her head to herself. At least he didn't seem to be so hunched over anymore...the master of Fairy Tail was returning to his usual self, as was everyone else.

Mira giggled to herself, smiling at the destruction around her. How long had it been since everyone - _especially_ a certain dragon slayer - had been in a good enough mood to party? She was glad that it had happened, even if she _did_ disapprove of how much Natsu had destroyed in his brief appearance the previous night.

Her eyes softened. Natsu...the young pink-haired mage had been beyond worried. He'd been frantic when someone had first voiced the possibility that Lucy might not wake up. He'd gone momentarily insane with rage, attempting to beat the hell out of them - "them" being Wakaba and Macao - before Erza had been forced to haul him back up to sit with Lucy. He'd then proceeded to try and shake the poor celestial mage awake, stopped only when Erza warned him that it would hurt her.

Footsteps caught her attention and she glanced up - and proceeded to smile gently when she saw who it was. "Ah, Natsu, awake, I see."

He yawned, rubbing at an eye in an adorable motion that had Mirajane giggling softly. Rubbing the back of his head with his other hand, he mumbled out, "Luce needs breakfast."

"Of course. I'll whip up something right away...do you and Happy want something, too?"

He gave her a brilliant grin, showing his fangs off for all to see. "Yeah. Happy will want a fish. I'll take whatever you're making Luce, except-"

"Light it on fire, I know, but you can do that yourself. I'll get a glass of water for Lucy, too," Mira mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "She's dehydrated and needs the water. I want you to make sure she drinks it, okay?"

"Sure," Natsu agreed, yawning again. He looked around at the destruction, taking in a few of their nakama. "...huh. Anyone go home last night?"

"Not that I know of," Mira admitted. She smiled affectionately. "Everyone was up until at least dawn...I'll be right back with that breakfast for you all. Why don't you go back up to Lucy? I'll bring it up for you."

"Thanks, Mira," he called after her, then looked around him with an affectionate look on his face. Adjusting his scarf so it wasn't tickling his nose, he started back up to the room Lucy was still asleep in, ducking through the doorway and quietly closing the door behind him. He paused to take in the celestial mage, his onyx eyes gentle.

Her brow had been drawn down in a nervous look as she mumbled in her sleep, and she clutched the poor suffocating Happy to her like a lifeline. The Exceed shot him a pleading look, and he smirked at him mockingly before moving over to lightly poke Lucy's shoulder. "Luce," he said, "Time to wake up."

Her eyes snapped open and he had to nearly bend all the way in half to avoid getting a fist driven by a powerful golden mist in the face. Happy squealed in surprise, and Natsu toppled backwards, rubbing his back and growling something under his breath before giving the exhausted blonde an accusing look. Lucy blinked blearily at the ceiling before sitting up, scrubbing at her eyes for a moment. She looked down at the dragon slayer, then looked at the wide-eyed Exceed. "...sorry."

He huffed, but his gaze sparkled with curiosity. "What _was_ that? I didn't know you could do that," Natsu said, grinning as he hopped to his feet, flames flickering to life in his excitement.

Lucy tiredly swiped her hair out of her face. "What was what?"

"You did this...thing," he cried, letting fire blaze to life on his fist. "Like this! But not with fire like me!"

"Oh." Lucy looked bewildered. "You taught me that." He stared at her, the flames dying out and she cursed under her breath, frustrated. "Forget about that...it's...I don't want to…"

She was saved from explaining by Mira stepping into the room, a warm smile on her face and a huge tray of food and drinks in her hands. "Good morning, Lucy. Hungry?"

"Not really," Lucy muttered, but reached out to grab some toast when Natsu's grin vanished and he scowled at her. She nibbled at it, grimacing at the taste. "Thanks, Mirajane," she said quietly.

She winked in response, removing a paper from her pocket. "I have a present for you...Reedus painted it this morning." She offered it out for the celestial mage, and Lucy took it, carefully unfolding it. She stared at it for a moment, her cheeks flushing before her entire face turned red.

Naturally, Natsu was curious and it soon resulted in her fighting to hide the paper from him, the grinning dragon slayer struggling to grab it as Mira squealed happily and held the food out of the way. Happy shot out of the bed to avoid being squished between the two. Due to lack of muscle, it wasn't long before Natsu was triumphantly holding the paper, one arm lightly grasping the blonde's waist. She was nearly sitting in his lap, and he'd used his legs to pin hers down.

Ignoring Mirajane's happy cooing, the fire mage flipped the paper open, studying it curiously before grinning and proceeding to promptly shove it into his own pocket. Lucy's jaw dropped. "Hey, that's mine, you jerk!"

"Not anymore," he responded, grinning down at her. "It's mine."

"Aw, you two are adorable," Mira squealed, setting the tray down.

Lucy's face flushed, though she didn't fight to get away from Natsu like she once would have. For one, there was no point. What damage could she do? And two, she'd gotten used to it within the nightmare. That's what it was, right? A nightmare. A bad dream that she'd lived in real time? That's what the others were describing it as anyways… Carefully crossing her arms, Lucy leaned slightly against the dragon slayer, and he leaned against her in return, glancing down at her curiously as she spoke. "Hand me a new thing of toast, would you, Mira? The jerk made me drop mine…"

"Sure," the ex-S-Class mage giggled, handing her a thing of toast - and then handed her a second when Natsu snatched it before Lucy could take it.

"Weirdos," Happy accused. Mira waved the Exceed over and she tucked him under one arm before heading out of the room, calling, "Why don't you bring her down later, Natsu? Everyone else wants to say hi, too, you know! And Erza and the others will be returning later today!"

Natsu snorted something Lucy didn't hear in response before reaching out carefully to drag the tray of food the barmaid had brought closer to them with his free hand, the other still lightly resting on her hip as he gave her a pleading look. "...lazy," Lucy sighed softly, picking up the box of matches Mira had left with them. She lit the bread in his hand on fire, and he smirked as he sucked the flames off of the match before beginning to happily munch on his toast. The dragon slayer was careful not to let the flames get near her hair, and Lucy grumbled about personal space as she nibbled at her own food.

When both had finished eating - Lucy decided she was done after half of a second piece of toast, claiming her stomach couldn't handle more, and Natsu had devoured the rest of the meal - they sat in complete silence, listening to muffled sounds below them as the guild began to wake up and join in with the cleaning. After a few minutes of this, Natsu blinked and mumbled, "Why did she take Happy?"

Lucy sighed, shrugging. "Who knows," she murmured, shaking her head. Mirajane _always_ did weird things like that. She'd learned long ago before all of this mess...no, that wasn't right. How did she even refer to what had happened? She pressed her lips into a hard line.

Noticing the sudden tenseness, Natsu rested his chin on her head, peering curiously down at her. "Luce?"

She carefully shook her head. She was fine, and she didn't want to explain what she'd dreamt of just yet. Her thoughts drifted over to what Natsu had told her last night, all of what had happened since she'd fallen unconscious.

According to her dragon slayer, the attack after their mission had been real. It had been a demon, he told her. Jellal had stopped by as if sensing something was amiss and confirmed it for them. A demon that had specialized in malicious ancient magic that couldn't be stopped from the outside...not that they hadn't tried. Apparently Erza had been the only one willing to draw a blade across the mark in an attempt to break the curse.

Her team had taken little to no jobs since they'd brought her home. None of them had wanted to leave her side, but the small reminder from Wendy about Lucy's apartment needing her rent paid had convinced them to leave. All of them except Natsu and Happy had left, the original members of Team Natsu determined to not leave her side unless absolutely necessary. Upon their team's return, however, the landlady had revealed that another member of their guild had payed the rent...nearly five years' worth!

Lucy's jaw had dropped at that and she'd demanded to know who so she could pay them back, and Natsu had mused about how suspicious they were of a certain iron dragon slayer, who had received extra special attention from Levy during the days afterward.

It had gone on like that, Natsu describing the lack of energy within their guild for the months after with Happy's help. She'd learned that they'd requested the assistance of their friends in Sabertooth, a few other guilds, and those in the Magic Council...though the Magic Council hadn't been so willing to help. Natsu had told her that Sting, Rogue, their Exceeds, and Yukino had come by to check on her whenever they passed through, Yukino even offering to stay at Lucy's side when Natsu had been concerned about his own lack of money.

In the end, however, it turned out he'd only left her side for food and other necessities...until the last job, when she'd woken up.

 _"Erza threatened to beat me unconscious,"_ Natsu had mumbled with a pout. _"Somethin' about being too clingy…"_

Lucy had giggled at that.

Suddenly, a huge sense of longing filled her and she raised a hand to lightly tug at his scarf, her large brown eyes turning upwards to meet curious onyx ones. "Natsu?" she asked softly, searching his gaze. "Can you...can you help me? I want to…" She waved at the door, expressing her longing to see everyone with her eyes rather than her voice.

A huge grin spread across his face. "Sure," he said eagerly, then paused. "Tell me if ya want to come back here though. Okay? Mira said it'd be bad to stress ya out too much."

Lucy muttered something about Mira needing to mind her own business, and he threw his head back and laughed loudly. He gave her a final small hug, and then squirmed until he's un-pinned her now numb legs, somehow retaining his balance as he lifted her. He shifted her until he thought she seemed comfortable, than started for the door. "C'mon then, let's get you downstairs…"

The _second_ he stepped into view, a huge cheer filled the guildhall. Lucy's eyes widened at the sight before her.

Somehow, in the span of two hours, even less if possible, the guildhall had been picked up from the night before. Everything had been put back in its original place, and the building's interior looked spotless. But things had been added, too, the celestial mage realized. Each table that littered the floor had carefully pressed and cleaned tablecloths, made of beautiful white cloth and edged with carefully stitched in golden stars. A vase, made of white porcelain, had been set in the center of the tables, filled to the brim with peach-colored flowers, a golden glow seeming to radiate off of them. A buffet table had been set up along one of the walls, just brimming with all sorts of food despite the fact that it was rather early in the morning. The bar, decorated in a similar manner, had golden lights attached along the edge of it and dangling from the ceiling, following the curve of it. Banners and streamers of white, peach, and gold decorated the walls, balloons seeming to have appeared out of nowhere, and in the middle of the guildhall, there was a _massive_ sign, held aloof by none other than Elfman, that read: _**Welcome Home, Lucy!**_

Tears flooded her eyes, and Lucy found herself gripping onto Natsu's scarf, burying her face into it to try and give herself a moment. Finally, she lifted her face again, a huge smile breaking across her face as she took in each and every one of her nakama. Elfman was grinning, still holding the sign high above his head with Evergreen rolling her eyes beside him. Freed and Bixslow weren't far away, a cheerful looking Lisanna standing near them alongside Mirajane and Laxus. Cana was shouting her greetings despite seeing Lucy the previous night, waving a barrel of alcohol around as Happy happily floated around their heads. Jet and Droy stood off to the side - Levy was nowhere to be found, Lucy noticed, and neither were Gajeel and Pantherlily - and even Juvia was there, beaming shyly at the celestial mage in greeting. Makarov stood at the head of the group, giving Lucy a warm smile.

It was then that she realized ten other figures had joined in the fray, standing off to the side. Loke was giving her a devilish smirk, an arm thrown around Aries' and Virgo's shoulders. The ram looked rather embarrassed, but Virgo didn't seem to care, instead gracing Lucy with a bright smile that she rarely saw upon the serious Celestial Spirit's face. Capricorn hung back behind them alongside Taurus and Sagittarius, though his face was softened, and Scorpio and Aquarius were also there. Aquarius was pretending to look annoyed, but Lucy recognized the look of relief in her eyes, even if she said nothing. Gemini was hopping around, cheering along with the rest of her nakama, and Cancer was snipping the scissors in his hands eagerly, eyeing her hair excitedly.

It was too much, and she could barely take notice of each and every other guild member there before Lucy burst into sobs, burying her face in Natsu's shoulder. The dragon slayer snickered, patting her shoulder awkwardly so he wouldn't drop her. "C'mon, Luce, what the hell are you crying for?"

"Thank you," was the only thing she was able to choke out, her hand lightly resting on his cheek for a moment. " _Thank you_."

The fire mage only snickered again and let a huge grin cross his face. "It was nothin'. It was actually Wendy's idea...she thought it'd be fun for when you woke up. Place was actually a huge mess earlier...I think your Spirits showed up to help, 'cause otherwise it never would have gotten this clean…"

"We can't stay," Loke announced, finally pulling away and shooting Lucy an apologetic grin. "Spirit King's already throwing a fit over how many of us stepped out on our own accord...but I thought it'd be a good idea."

"Thank you," Lucy repeated, shooting him a grateful look. "It means...it means a lot, Loke."

He winked. "Anytime, Princess," he replied, and then disappeared in a flash of light alongside the other Celestial Spirits. Lucy watched them go with a fond look on her face, her hand falling instinctively to the empty place at her hip.

"They're on your desk at your place," Natsu answered the unsaid question.

"Natsu, stop hogging her to yourself!" Cana suddenly wailed, throwing a glass she'd been drinking out of at his head. "You've had at least...however many hours you were up there last night! Give the rest of us a turn!"

He growled when the glass struck his head, shattering, glaring his annoyance, but Lucy patted his chest with a giggle. "Come on, Natsu," she said warmly, tears still falling down her cheeks. "Cana's right."

"Which is why we prepared this!" Lucy found herself yanked from Natsu's arms, shoved into a comfortable plush chair by a happy Mira, who winked at her. "There's a whole party for everyone - again!" she announced, explaining to Lucy at the same time. "Fairy Tail style!" She paused, then whispered in Lucy's ear, "Be glad Gajeel isn't here...there's going to be karaoke later."

Lucy found herself giving a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

The second Elfman had tossed the sign aside, the party began. Lucy was enjoying herself immensely, though she didn't necessarily enjoy the amount of food shoved into her hands. Natsu took care of that for her, however, not once leaving her aside when the usual wildness started up. He made sure that any small brawl that was started stayed away from her rather than joining in, something Happy teased the both of them about.

Every now and then, someone would stop by to chat with Lucy, and Lucy greeted each and every one of them with a huge smile, relieved to see them alive.

Eventually, Juvia drifted over to greet her, giving the celestial mage a happy look that quickly turned to one of surprise when Lucy offered her arms for a hug. She hesitantly gave it to Lucy, using it to hiss in her ear, "Do not upset my love further, love rival. He is very upset with himself."

"...okay?" Lucy frowned. What would Gray possibly be upset about? She was his teammate, and he was probably just as worried as the rest of the guild, but did that really require extra warning…?

 _"'Cause that bastard said what he said, you left and got attacked,"_ Natsu had said.

 _...oh. That makes sense…_

It was about two hours into the party and nearly ten in the morning that the doors to the guildhall flew open and a grinning blond dragon slayer shouted, "We're _here_!" Sting's blue eyes landed upon Lucy momentarily, the grin brightening. Rogue, standing just beside him, rolled his eyes as Lector lectured Frosch on something or another. Yukino flushed as she came to speak with Lucy, leaving her fellow Sabertooth mages to join in with the food portion.

Lucy's eyes snapped wide. "How did they get here so quickly?"

"How is he moving like that?" Natsu demanded, looking annoyed. "He was on a train for hours!"

Yukino smiled warmly. "Master Makarov contacted Sting last night," she explained to the other celestial mage. "He said you'd woken up and there was going to be a party, so we came to welcome you back to the waking world. As for their motion sickness...we met with friends on the way here."

 _"LUCY!"_

Lucy yelped when her head was suddenly slammed into a hard breast plate, scarlet colored hair falling around her as Erza crushed her in a tight hug. The powerful requip mage had tears in her eyes as she smiled at Lucy, who cried, "Erza!"

"Watch it," Natsu muttered in exasperation. "She's still sick, ya know!"

"If you _ever_ frighten us in such a way again," Erza scolded, "I will punish you, Lucy Heartfilia."

"No last names please," Lucy pleaded, grimacing. But still, she laughed softly, hugging Erza back as tightly as she could. When a familiar flash of blue was seen, she released her in favor of throwing her arms around Wendy for a hug, laughing and crying now. "Wendy! Charle!" She didn't dare hug the annoyed looking white Exceed, who had proceeded to try and fend off a fish offered to her.

Suddenly, Natsu tensed, his onyx eyes narrowing as he edged closer, leaning protectively over Lucy's chair. Lucy blinked as he somehow managed to rest his chin on top of her head, glaring at someone as they approached. It took nothing to realize who was awkwardly approaching, rubbing the back of their head and messing up their messy hair further. "Oh, stop," she scolded Natsu quietly. "I'm not angry with him, so you can't be. You got it?"

Gray gave the celestial mage an anxious, lop-sided smile. "Hey, Lucy," he said warily, "Glad to see you awake." Juvia seemed to materialize beside him, glaring daggers at Lucy, as if daring her to say something harsh.

Lucy ignored the water mage in favor of carefully reaching forward to tug at his sleeve. He let her pull him in for a hug that was just a fractional bit tighter than any of the others she'd managed to give so far. "You stop blaming yourself," she scolded under her breath, "Not your fault, okay? Good." She shoved him back as best as she could, though she secretly decided Natsu had assisted her in the matter. The dragon slayer looked ready to explode with anger, fire dancing along his fingertips and searing the material of the chair she sat in.

Juvia looked just as angry as Natsu, but the anger vanished when Gray suddenly threw an arm around her shoulders, the tense set of his own relaxing into his usual chilled look as he mocked, "The hell's your problem, ya flaming bastard?"

Natsu's eyes flashed with eagerness. "You say something, ice princess?"

Erza didn't even try to stop them as they fell into a loud shouting match that had soon resulted in a massive brawl with almost everyone in the guild jumping in. "It's been a while," she sighed, glancing at Juvia, who'd now stopped giving Lucy sharp looks. "I'll let them go at it for a little bit."

Lucy only giggled, her cheeks aching from smiling so much as she watched Natsu eagerly try to launch himself at Laxus, who gave him a dirty look before sending him the other way in an electrified mess and returning to his conversation with Mira.

Oh, how she'd missed this.

As had everyone else.

* * *

"Lucy!" a voice hissed in her ear, warm hands shaking her awake. She blurrily opened her eyes, staring up at the sharp onyx eyes with confusion. "Get up! Levy and the iron freak are back!"

She shoved herself into a sitting position, yawning in her exhaustion. "What?" she mumbled, "When did they get back?"

The party had gone on all day and long into the night and despite hearing news of her friend's return, the celestial mage found herself annoyed with the fire dragon slayer for waking her up so early, when the daylight was just beginning to filter through the windows. She'd be returning to her own apartment soon, she realized. She just hoped she wouldn't be left alone again.

"Just a few minutes ago…" Natsu glanced at Happy, who' cuddled into her side again. The Exceed had been stubborn, demanding she let him sleep with her to keep her safe, and Lucy had surprised everyone by letting him.

"He'll be fine," Lucy muttered, affectionately patting Happy's head before stumbling out of the bed, nearly toppling over when her legs refused to support her. Natsu caught her, and she gave a frustrated sound. "Damn it," she hissed under her breath.

"You just gotta keep trying," Natsu told her, though he didn't look too happy about it either. "That's what Erza and Wendy said, remember?"

"I guess," she sighed. "Come on, I want to see Levy. And don't pick me up. Just help me. My legs aren't going to work unless I start using them," she added when he moved to do just that. Natsu rolled his eyes, but drew an arm around his neck so she could lean into him while stumbling forward.

It took them a good little while, but eventually, her forehead dampened with sweat, Lucy sank into the chair she'd called home for the duration of the party, groaning in relief. "Where are they?"

"In Gramps' office," he mused, leaning against the chair. "He said to bring you down, that they'd be out in a bit."

"Okay," she answered simply. Lucy rested her head back with a yawn, closing her eyes, grateful that everyone had gone home after the party. Excluding the Sabertooth mages, who'd been gifted temporary housing. Yukino had been granted a stay at Fairy Hills, while Cana had let the two dragon slayers and their Exceeds into Gildarts' empty home for the time being.

It wasn't long before, just as Natsu had said, Makarov exited his office, followed closely by three rugged looking shapes. Lily was exhaustedly draped across Levy's head in a similar way that Happy sometimes did, his eyes closed as he dozed despite his reputation for staying serious half the time. Gajeel looked just as roughed up, his red eyes sharp with wary annoyance despite the fact. His body was tensed, as if he was ready to fight at a moment's notice, and it wasn't hard to see why. Levy, who was leaning heavily against him, had a large amount of bandages wrapping portions of her body - particularly her throat. He was ready to protect her, and he didn't care much for what anyone might say about it.

Wisely, Natsu kept his mouth shut.

Levy's exhausted hazel eyes lit up upon seeing Lucy, however, and she staggered over to throw her arms around the blonde after plucking Lily off of her head and shoving him into Gajeel's arms. "Lucy!" she cried, her voice hoarse. Tears fell from the solid-script mage's eyes, and soon, Lucy was crying right alongside her, burying her face in Levy's shoulder.

Finally, Levy pulled back, smiling warmly. "We have quite the story for you," she rasped, "And I think you might need to put it into a book, Lucy. But I need sleep, as do Lily and Gajeel. So I'll leave it at this: the demon's dead - we think. We're pretty sure we managed to kill it, or at least seal it, so it won't be bothering anyone ever again. And we destroyed the dark mages controlling it, too."

Lucy's eyes widened. "...there were...dark mages controlling it?"

"Yeah," Gajeel grunted, finally speaking up. He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Fuckers were hard to get, I'll tell you that. Had to take 'em all out at once after we figured that out."

"They were protecting the demon," Levy explained. She smiled faintly. "We didn't realize how strong they were until we nearly got ourselves killed going after them the first time. We had to pull back and reconsider how we were going to go about the mission."

Lucy tilted her head. "How did you know where they were…?"

"I'd been looking into the mark on your back," Levy explained. "I found a few symbols, and then one day, a mission with one of them popped up onto the request board, so I spoke with Master about it. Gajeel had already agreed to go on a job with me because I was concerned about my lack of money, so off we went. We left...what was it...a month ago maybe?"

Gajeel nodded his agreement. "Bout that much time."

Levy clapped her hands together. "Oh! And you'll never guess what we found while we were looking for them...Natsu, you'll be pleased about this." She grinned excitedly, leaning forward. "We met with a dragon."

Natsu's onyx eyes snapped wide, his entire body tensing in shock as he stared at her. "You _what_?"

"We met a dragon," Levy repeated, laughing at his response.

"How?!" Natsu threw his hands in the air, making Lucy giggle at his exasperation. "The only one we've seen since our dragons disappeared is Acnologia!"

The look on Gajeel's face had Lucy's eyes widening. "Was Metalicana...bastard decided to show up and make our lives a living hell for a while."

"You saw Metalicana?" Natsu gave a frustrated huff, crossing his arms. "What about Igneel?" he demanded, his fingers fumbling with the scarf wrapped around his throat. "Did you see Igneel, too?"

"No," Levy said gently. "But Metalicana told us that everything was alright, that he'd show up eventually." She gave Natsu a warm smile, her gaze soft at the look of frustration on Natsu's face.

Lucy reached up to lightly squeeze her dragon slayer's hand, her eyes warm, and Natsu met them for a moment before mumbling, "Guess I can wait…"

"Anyways, we need to go get some rest," Levy announced. She winked at Lucy. "I expect that book of yours finished and in my hands within the week, you hear me? You've made me wait long enough as it is."

"Okay," Lucy laughed, leaning her head against Natsu's side when he moved to stand beside the chair she sat in. Levy winked knowingly, then grabbed Gajeel's arm and started hauling him for the doors of the guildhall.

"Hm," Makarov hummed thoughtfully, "I'm glad that all of my children have returned."

"Me, too," Lucy mused, giggling at the grin Natsu shot her. Her eyes closed, and she found herself falling into pleasant thoughts. She knew without a doubt that she'd have nightmares for a long time to come, but at least she'd have her dragon slayer there to keep her sane.

Maybe nightmares could come true, too...but if they could, then so could happy dreams.

And after surviving the worst nightmare of her life? She was ready for those happy thoughts.

* * *

 _A fun little chapter with hints of what Gajeel and Levy were up to and a huge party to top it all off. There will be one more chapter and an epilogue, I promise. :) I think this is a good time to announce something I hope you all might be excited about..._

 ** _There is DEFINITELY going to be a spinoff of Shattered Dreams. It will be a Gajevy fanfic titled_ _Shattered Reality_ _, and it will be about that little mission mentioned, where they met Metalicana. :D_**

 _On that note, thank you to all reviewers (Ayrmed, Reaganbrie, Become's one with the story, Kinsutenekochan, rrrrRANDOMmm, BlessYourStar21, dreeaatail, Gaia Kame, Gothazon, Moon Stone Tiger Lily, and the Guest. :D) as well as all that have favorited and followed._


	23. Chapter 22

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

 _ **Three Years Later…**_

* * *

Her eyes snapped open and a gasp escaped her lips as she tried to struggle and figure out where she was, tears falling soundlessly despite her attempt to make them stop. Panicking now, she sat up quickly, heaving for air, her body trembling with the effort of _not_ fleeing. Her dark eyes searched the empty air before her, a haunted look in them showing her entrapment in a nightmare.

"Luce?"

Natsu's sleepy voice had her head jerking around to face him. One look into her terrified brown eyes, and the dragon slayer was shoving himself upwards, his eyes blinking tiredly. "What's wrong?" he demanded, giving a tongue-curling yawn.

"Sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes as she struggled to calm herself down. "I'm...I'm okay."

"No you're not," he grumbled, pulling her into his lap. She flinched but didn't protest, instead leaning back against his chest, taking comfort in his unnaturally heated body. She murmured her thanks and he grunted in response, demanding, "What happened?"

She took a deep breath, then reached up to tug lightly on the ends of the scarf he wore even in sleep. He let her, not seeming the least bit bothered as he kept a careful eye on her, waiting impatiently for her to speak. Finally, she said softly, "Same old dream."

It had been three years since she'd woken up from that hellish curse, and she still found herself struggling to reassure herself that she really was awake sometimes. Natsu usually helped with that, refusing to sleep away from her now so that if she woke up like she just had, he'd be there to help her.

So many things had changed since then, and, of course, she found herself extremely grateful that they were good things. People had come together, resulting in the marriages of Gajeel and Levy - she was still shocked that Levy had managed to coax the proud iron dragon slayer into that, she'd have to ask how she'd done it - and then Gray and Juvia. She wasn't surprised at all by that. Everyone had known it was coming, and when it had been announced, Lucy had thought Mira was going to explode with happiness.

About a year after their marriage, the two had had their first child, a little girl who'd shown herself to have her mother's abilities within days of her birth when Gray had shown up at the guildhall, pissed off and soaking wet. Upon Mira's asking about what had happened, it was revealed that their daughter had decided to use her mother's "Water Body" and had practically melted into a puddle in his hands.

Natsu had been beside himself with laughter at that, though a quick punch to the face had shut him up. That had resulted in a full out brawl that hadn't ended until Erza had made an appearance out of nowhere and yanked them apart, threatening to banish both of them from Magnolia for a full day. Lucy had hastily put a stop to that.

Erza had begun to wander around the country with Jellal on occasion, joining him and Meredy though it didn't happen very often. Usually, she had been around the guildhall, helping their aging guildmaster...until one day, out of nowhere, Makarov had dubbed her current guildmaster and disappeared into thin air. They hadn't been able to figure out where he'd gone, and had searched with worry in their hearts - until a postcard had been sent from a resort.

Erza had hauled him back to retake his place, claiming she wasn't ready for such a rank.

Happy had begun to win Charle over after a while, and Lucy often liked to tease the little Exceed about it, demanding to know when kittens would make an appearance. Payback was great! Especially for all the times he'd messed with her and Natsu. Happy rarely slept in the same room as them, not fond of Lucy's occasional movement that accompanied nightmares, and had his own small bed in the living room of her apartment.

Even Wendy was beginning to show a bit of interest in Romeo, and Macao was absolutely relentless when it came to messing with them about it.

And finally, there was her. And Natsu, she supposed. She'd become Natsu's girlfriend only a few months after waking up and had required his assistance on most things until she'd been able to walk around on her own two feet. Even now, three years later, she still had a few issues when it came to walking around for too long or fighting, which hadn't happened as severely as she'd gotten used to in her nightmare. Yes, there was the occasional job where they were against dark mages, but it hadn't been bad enough to make her too worried.

It had taken two years of convincing herself that she was awake before she'd finally told him every single detail of what she'd gone through. It had happened after a particularly nasty nightmare that had woken both of them with her screaming and hysteria as she tried to shove away from Natsu's strong arms, nearly cracking her head open on a hard corner when she fell out of the bed. Only then had he demanded she tell him what happened. And she had...she had told him all of it, even the bit about speaking with Igneel. He'd been shockingly happy about that. He'd wanted her to meet Igneel eventually.

He'd been surprisingly quiet when she'd told him about what she'd gone through, and had simply pulled him to her for a tight hug afterwards, telling her firmly that he wouldn't let that happen. The next day, she'd reluctantly explained to the rest of the guild, going into detail about what happened. Most of them had looked sick, but she'd been suspicious when Gajeel and Levy's faces had flashed with an almost knowing look.

And now…

Natsu snorted quietly, resting his cheek against hers as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Lucy smiled warmly, closing her eyes again. How many nights had he sat up with her, keeping her company despite being both physically and mentally exhausted after a job? "Thank you, Natsu," she murmured.

He huffed, tightening his grip around her, burying his nose against her throat. And then he flopped back, dragging the giggling celestial mage with him despite her protests, hauling her so she was crushed against him with one arm pillowing her head and the other wrapped around her. He buried his face in her hair, sighed heavily, and then was contently out like a light.

"Idiot," she said affectionately, voice soft. She snuggled closer, laughing softly to herself before closing her eyes.

How she loved being alive.

* * *

 _Crash!_

"YO! WE'RE HERE!"

A screaming wail.

"DAMN IT, YA STUPID FLAMES FOR BRAINS! YOU WOKE HER UP!"

Lucy moaned, burying her face in her hands as Gray launched himself at Natsu, the two falling into a brawl within seconds. Juvia pouted from her place at the bar, where a humming Asuka was cutely trying to help Juvia calm the once-napping child down. Sutorimu, Gray and Juvia's daughter, scrunched up her nose, her wide blue eyes full of tears, and Juvia stroked her dark hair back, exasperated.

"Sorry," Lucy groaned as she dropped into a seat beside her. After she and Gray had gotten married, Juvia had relaxed towards just about everyone in the guild...particularly Lucy. "He's an idiot."

"Juvia knows," Juvia reassured, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, Erza is here."

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT FIGHTING NEAR THE CHILDREN!?"

 _Wham!_

"Ow!" Natsu cried, clutching his head where an armored fist had slammed into it. "Erza, that hurt!"

"Then don't wake up Sutorimu," Erza snapped, glaring at him and then glaring at Gray, who'd begun to sneak back to join Juvia. "You are no better!"

"Hungry, Lucy?" Mira asked, giggling as she whisked over after snatching one of many barrels of alcohol from Cana's clutches. She put it away under the bar, pausing to coo at the sniffling baby.

"Whatever you feel like making, I'll take it," Lucy told her, smiling broadly. "And multiply it by ten times the amount. Natsu decided today's the day he wants to eat everything he can."

"WATCH IT, SALAMANDER!" Gajeel suddenly roared from the table he was sitting at with Levy and Lily, slamming a hand over the flame that Natsu had shot at their table. The iron dragon slayer glowered viciously at Natsu, who only smirked in response.

Lucy pouted, resting her chin on folded arms. "I'll be taking home a bag of broken bones today...I don't know what's gotten into him, he's lost his mind…"

Mira chuckled under her breath as she slid a full plate in front of Lucy. Lucy began to chow down, eyeing the dragon slayer that was slowly beginning to make his way over to the bar. Noticing, Mira scolded, "Don't you dare take Lucy's food, Natsu Dragneel. I'm already making your's."

He pouted and then stole a piece of Lucy's bacon anyways.

Lucy huffed, smacking his arm. "Damn it, Natsu, eat your own! Jerk!"

"Nah, your's tastes better," he said, shooting her a cheeky smile.

"Jerk!"

"Ow!"

"Lucy!"

"Happy!" Lucy caught the small Exceed in a tight hug, letting him knock her off the barstool she'd been sitting in. "I was wondering where you went this morning! Did you get here early?"

"Wendy and Charle were going on a job with Macao and Romeo," Happy reported. "So I saw them off. I tried to wake you up to tell you, but Natsu wouldn't let me." He pouted, letting her sit up.

"That's okay, he's - _NATSU, I'M GOING TO SEND AQUARIUS AFTER YOU!"_ she exploded angrily when he dumped the remains of her breakfast into his mouth. He darted away, laughing loudly as she chased after him, threatening a few things that had Mira placing her hands over Asuka's ears, warning Lucy about the small girl.

Lisanna made an appearance then, Elfman close behind. Both paused to take a look at the commotion, then shook their heads when Lucy finally caught up and performed a Lucy Kick that trailed a golden glow. Natsu went flying, slamming into Gajeel, who went head over heels as he tried to avoid landing on the surprised looking Levy. In an instant, the fire mage was on his feet, a blazing whirlwind of happy flames - only to be hurled away by Gajeel when Levy squeaked, batting at the flames that had lit her dress on fire. "I TOLD YOU TO WATCH IT!"

Mira gave a sly smile as Levy sighed in relief, simply using water created by her magic to put the flames out. "Do you have something to tell us, Levy?"

Levy's cheeks flushed. "Uh, yes, actually." She paused to grab a lock of Gajeel's hair, tugging on it to keep him from chasing after Natsu. The iron dragon slayer glowered furiously at her, and she only rolled her eyes. "Gajeel and I are expecting."

There was heartbeat of silence.

And then there was a roar of excitement from around the guild that had Sutorimu wailing again. Juvia sighed, shaking her head and giving up on putting the crying baby back to sleep as she called to Levy, "Juvia thinks you shouldn't bring the baby here, it's very bad for when they need to nap."

Levy only giggled, then yelped when Lucy was suddenly throwing her arms around the small mage. Levy laughed, hugging Lucy back just as tightly as she squealed, "Congratulations, Levy! I call first dibs on being the godmother!"

Levy beamed. "Of course!"

The look of devastation upon Gajeel's face made her giggle. "Don't worry, Gajeel," Lucy reassured. "Natsu doesn't have to be godfather, I doubt he's ready for such a thing just _yet_!" She squealed when Natsu suddenly hefted his girlfriend into the air, yelling, "Come on, Luce, fight me!"

She thrashed to try and get out of his grip. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot?! Put me down!"

An evil look appeared on Gajeel's face and Levy only protested for a moment before he'd suddenly swept his foot into the back of Natsu's knees. Natsu went down with a yelp that turned into a grunt of pain when Lucy crashed down safely onto his stomach. He groaned in pain and Lucy sighed in relief, shooting Gajeel a grateful look.

Erza drifted over to join Mira and Juvia at the bar, offering to Lucy, "I can take care of him if you want."

"No," Lucy said with a smirk, crossing her arms and refusing to move. "I think I've got him now, but thanks for the - oof!" She was suddenly shoved off of Natsu and squealed when he pinned her to the floor, smirking down at her as he taunted, "Ha! I win!"

"Jerk!" Lucy wailed, kicking to free herself. And then her cheeks blossomed a brilliant red when he simply pressed his lips against her own in a light and loving kiss.

And then he was gone, Erza bristling with rage as she kicked him away hard enough that he slammed through the wall of the building. "How _dare_ you do such things in front of children!"

Lucy buried her face in her hands after sitting up. Levy commented about it being rare that Natsu displayed such affection in front of everyone for the very reason Erza was going after him now, and it only made Lucy blush harder, moaning for Levy to shut up.

Cana chucked an empty barrel over her shoulder, reaching for another with drunkenly flushed cheeks, eyes lit with amusement. "Damn. Need to get some lessons from ya, Lucy."

"Stop!" Lucy wailed. "Shush! Shut your mouths! I beg you!"

"Mira?" Lisanna mused, poking at her squealing sister's cheek. "Are you alright?"

Gray gave a smirk at the sight of Natsu getting beaten by Erza for public displays of affection in front of Sutorimu and Asuka, standing beside an exasperated Juvia. The water mage looked ready to leave, and it was still early in the day.

"Come on, Erza," Natsu shouted under Erza's vicious barrage of attacks. "Don't be mad 'cause she's better at kissing than you!"

" _Natsu_!" Lucy shrieked, looking ready to join Erza in beating the hell out of him.

"Is she?" Cana mused. As soon as the celestial mage had stumbled back to the bar, Cana had a grip on her arm, hauling her closer before slamming her lips over Lucy's. "Yep!" she announced a moment later, giving a drunken laugh. "Lucy's the better kisser!"

"WHAT THE HELL, CANA!?" Lucy screamed, looking at the other woman in utter horror, her hand slapped over her mouth.

Natsu went after her the second he was freed of Erza's shocked grasp. "DAMN IT, CANA, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT!"

Cana only snickered, avoiding the flaming punch Natsu threw her way. "Oh, shush," she shushed, flipping a card out of nowhere. Natsu wheezed, crashing to the ground and clutching his nose, and from where Gajeel was being forced to relax by Levy, he, too, appeared to have been affected. "Ha! Knew it would work. Made a new card for myself...only works on dragon slayers! Anyways, Erza, come 'ere! I wanna see if what he said is right! Lucy, stay there, I might need a second one to compare..."

"Cana!" Lucy wailed.

"What the hell?" Natsu cried, looking disgusted as he covered his nose, glaring at her.

"C-Cana," Mira stammered, moving to take the alcohol from the card mage. "I think it's time for you to go home and think about what you've done…"

Cana held the barrel away from her. "Nah, I'm having fun. 'Sides, I wanted to have a turn...Natsu hogs her to himself all the time."

Natsu sputtered, his voice sounding strange as he coughed, "That's what I'm s'posed to do, ain't it? That's how the ice princess and Juvia and iron freak and Levy got married."

There was just a moment of silence before Mira screeched her happiness. Cana dropped the drink she'd been sipping out of, looking startled, and everyone else just about lost their minds. Lucy gaped at Natsu. "N-Natsu," she stammered, looking bewildered.

He frowned. "What? That's what they did...didn't see 'em a lot and then suddenly," he threw his hands in the air, "We're all having to wear ridiculous suits and stuff 'cause they're getting married."

Gray roared with laughter at the dragon slayer's explanation, leaning against the bar to keep himself upright. "You freaking _idiot_ ," he laughed, shaking his head, ignoring the soft huff Juvia gave him. "It requires _asking_ Lucy to marry you!"

He paused. "Oh." Natsu snapped his head around, giving Lucy a huge grin. "Wanna marry me, Luce?"

Lucy looked ready to explode, both hands clasped over her mouth now. Her eyes were dancing with laughter and happiness, her cheeks still just as red as moments before. A giggle slipped past her lips as she slowly made her way over to the suddenly wary fire dragon slayer. And then she gently kissed him. "About time, Natsu," was all she said before she was tackled around the middle in a tight hug. She laughed, returning it.

From where he was sitting, Makarov shook his head.

Only his brats.

* * *

 _So...definitely not the chapter I'm assuming most of you were expecting, but I absolutely LOVE this chapter. I think this was my favorite to right. :) Thanks to reviewers (Gaia Kame, Ayrmed, Gothazon, Kinsutenekochan, Melodymusical8910, Become's one with the story, and dreeaatail) as well as those who decided to favorite and follow! Also, another announcement..._

 ** _Announcement:_**

 ** _After Gaia Kame's review made me realize just how little I've done in regards to explaining the Celestial Spirits in all of this, I have decided to make a second spinoff called Shattered Boundaries. I have yet to decide whether or not it will only be a large one-shot, or a multi-chapter fanfic, but it will be about the Celestial Spirits (more than likely from Loke's point of view). _**

**_On that note, a lot of things that have yet to be explained will be explained in Shattered Boundaries and Shattered Reality. So I hope you'll keep an eye out for them! :)_**

 _Anyhow...I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I WILL be releasing the epilogue a few days early (expect it around Wednesday or Thursday)._


	24. Epilogue

**. Shattered Dreams .**

* * *

She watched the gentle ebbing of the ocean waves, her gentle green eyes surprisingly serious. Blonde hair tickled the heels of her feet, and her hands were clasped in front of her lips in a thoughtful way that looked as if she was praying. Suddenly, her gaze darted off to the side, warming with gratitude. "Metalicana," she greeted softly.

The massive dragon lowered his large head, metallic scales shining beautifully in the sunlight. Red eyes gleaming, he said with a voice that was both booming and sounded like the scraping of rocks against each other, **"Mavis."**

Mavis let her gaze drift up to rest on the dragon. "Thank you," she said softly. "For helping me assist Lucy Heartfilia all those years ago. She would not have survived otherwise, and I would not have been able to retreat safely from the curse without your's and Igneel's power."

He snorted. **"She is the friend of my brat's chosen mate,"** the beast growled. **"As if I'd let her up and keel over."** A proud tone entered his voice and he lifted his head. **"My brat will have his first hatchling shortly."**

Mavis' laughter tinkled like the sound of bells before her eyes narrowed again. "Mmm...but only if you assist me again."

 **"Oh?"**

"The demon that attacked Lucy Heartfilia...it used true events to twist her nightmares," Mavis explained. She waved for the dragon to follow, and then simply stepped off of the cliff she'd been standing on. She landed lightly a couple hundred feet down, and the ground shook violently as Metalicana landed after her. They stood before a cave, where hisses and screeches warned them to stay away. "The creatures...the Marked, as she called them, exist," she explained, waving towards the cave. "I searched for them. And I have found them. My magic is not meant to destroy, however."

Metalicana sneered at the dark cave, his glowing red eyes seeing easily into the darkness. **"These are the creatures that haunted Bunny Girl's dreams, eh?"** At Mavis' look, he shrugged his massive shoulders. **"It is how my brat refers to her. I like it."**

Mavis gave him a look of exasperation. "Lucy Heartfilia has a name, as you know."

 **"Meh,"** was the only response she got. **"Step back. I will take care of these...Marked."** Mavis pranced back a few steps, even going so far as to hop onto his body, easily perching on his ridged back. The dragon sucked in a large breath, and then _roared_. Shrapnel of metal and iron raced around in a deadly vortex that tore through the Marked hidden inside, ripping them into shreds. Within seconds, their bodies had dissolved. Metalicana shoved his head through the cave's entrance, his eyes seeking out any hidden creatures. **"They are gone."**

"Thank you," she repeated. Mavis hopped down from his back, her eyes glaring coldly into the cave...and then darting up to the dragon when he began to squeeze into it. "Metalicana?"

 **"I will use this as my hiding den,"** he rumbled, eyes glowing in the dark. **"I was drawn from my true place to assist you. The brat is lucky I was able to finish what I set out to accomplish before stepping out...I will hide here until the order is given. Acnologia will return soon enough. And until then...I will remain here and make sure the Marked do not return."**

Her eyes warmed with happiness. "Thank you, Metalicana," she repeated happily. She respectfully bowed her head to him, her fingers clasped in front of her lips again as she gave a final smile and began to disappear.

Mavis Vermillion had completed what she set out to do.

Fairy Tail - and Lucy Heartfilia - were safe.

* * *

 _Ahhhh! The final chapter! Well, epilogue. I love writing Metalicana and Mavis. They're fun. ANYHOW! This is the last of Shattered Dreams, as you all know. Shattered Reality_ _is being written as you read this, though very slowly for some reason. Don't expect it up in the next week, maybe two, but I'm going to try hard to get it done. And when it is posted, it'll take over Fridays and Mondays for this. Thank you to ALL reviewers as well as those for the final chapter (the Guest, ilftnatsu, Kinsutenekochan, Gothazon, and weaponsistress1897). Thank you to all that favorited and followed as well! It means the world to me! See ya later!_

 _~river_


	25. Announcement!

_Hello, everyone!_

 _I've come here to announce the arrival of the spinoff I told you all about:_ _Shattered Reality_ _! Yay! _

_As mentioned before, SR is about that little adventure that Levy, Gajeel, and Pantherlily had in the month or so before Lucy woke up._

 _I hope you enjoy it if you enjoyed_ _Shattered Dreams!  
_

 _Make sure to note that SR is to be read after SD!_

 _~river_


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